Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

A tracing of the development of religious thought from the Middle Ages to the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.  ( 2 min )

A guitarist and a dancer compete for the same woman’s affection.  ( 2 min )

A law clerk takes an interest in the disappearance of a well-known woman and her infant daughter, just as their fortune is about to be distributed to a notorious client.  ( 2 min )

On Sunday, July 16, 2023, a hulking mystery object the size of a small car was dragged ashore by a curious couple in Western Australia. Greenhead, a town previously known for its wildflowers and pristine beaches, is now abuzz with an international mystery. Theories about the identity of the object have raged on the internet—from a piece of a passing ship, to a pressurized tank, to a part of Malaysia Airlines flight 370, which went missing over the Indian Ocean in 2014. The encrusted object is now being held in a secure storage facility for further investigation. The Australian Space Agency subsequently tweeted: “The object could be from a foreign space launch vehicle and we are liaising with global counterparts who may be able to provide more information.” European Space Agency enginee…  ( 19 min )

A cone of light from Octavio Fernández Lorenzo's headlamp pierces the subterranean darkness. The rocky surfaces that surround him radiate heat, in some places enough to burn unprotected skin. With every step he takes, the temperature rises. But Fernández Lorenzo, vice president of the Canary Federation of Speleology, is not worried about the discomfort. He wants to see a place that no human has seen before. Not long ago, lava raced through this cave on La Palma, in the Spanish Canary Islands. Over nearly 86 days, starting in September 2021, an eruption pumped some 200 million cubic meters of lava from a fissure near the peak of the Cumbre Vieja ridge. Fresh volcanic rock coated the island's southwest face, and destroyed thousands of buildings, dozens of miles of road, and almost a thousa…  ( 23 min )

In the central Piazza Garibaldi is the Governor's Palace, the original building of which dates back to the 13th century. After undergoing numerous changes, its present form dates back to the second half of the 18th century. If you look carefully at the part of the palace on the corner of Via Cavour, you will notice the sample of the "Parmesan brick," the ancient unit of measurement of Parmesan builders, embedded and framed in the wall. It measures approximately 28 centimeters long, 12 centimeters wide, and 5.6 centimeters thick. The brick measure, displayed in antiquity by the kilnsmen, served to prevent the placing on the market of dwindling sizes and the resulting fraud. The ancient Italian units of measurement were local units in use throughout the centuries in different parts of Italy. Although they often had similar names, they had very different origins and values. As early as the 11th century, the different local realities realized their own units of measurement. Over time, boundary changes led to heterogeneous units of measurement being brought together under the same administration with obvious problems for duties, taxation, and trade. Rare and not very fruitful were some attempts at unifying units of measurement, for which it would be necessary to wait until the 19th century, when local units of measurement were gradually replaced by the metric system.  ( 12 min )

Hidden behind a wall, which feels like a prison yard, a striking memorial attempts to commemorate and give a brief timeline of the events leading up to 19 men being hanged as Molly Maguires between 1877 and 1879 in the Pennsylvania coal region. The bronze statue was created by Zenos Frudakis and erected in 2009 in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania. The imagery of the statue is of an anonymous man with his hands and feet both bound by rope and a hood over his head, as he waits for the gallows. Molly Maguires were Irish immigrants that worked in the anthracite mines in Schuylkill, Carbon, Luzerne, Columbia, and Northumberland Counties in Pennsylvania. At least 19 miners were hanged between 1877 and 1879 for crimes associated with the Molly Maguires group, who were fighting with mine owners for basic living rights. The miners at the time were treated poorly, with low wages and awful working conditions. The miners felt they were being taken advantage of and exploited by the mine owners, and formed the Molly McGuires. (The name comes from early 19th-century Ireland, when a woman named Molly Maguire protested against English landlords who tried to steal people's land.) Both sides during this conflict resorted to violence, with many people dying on both sides from murders to suspicious deaths to dynamiting of mines to close the mines so that the mine owners lost money. Both sides blamed the other side whenever anything went wrong, and would fight back with violence. Chronologically, the trials of the Molly McGuires ended on January 14, 1879, when Martin Bergin, the 19th Molly was executed and hung in Pottsville for the murder of Patrick Burns. The monument pays tribute to all the miners that lost their lives during this time, there is a black plaque dedicated to them with their names inscribed. The dedication marker lists "Sir Sean Connery" as chairman of the advisory committee. Connery played the lead role in the fictional movie, The Molly Maguires.  ( 13 min )

Come night, how can you resist letting your eyes adjust and looking around outside? Are you among those of us who check out how full the moon is, how it illuminates a softly flowing river? Or do you find a place dark enough to try to take in the ethereal glow of the Milky Way? Are you among the folks lucky—and polar—enough to see the dancing colors of the auroras? Or maybe you’re closer to home, and love the light show put on by fireflies? Summer might have shorter nights, but it is the ideal time to check out the wonders around you, whether you’re a night owl looking out your window, a camper laying down in a dark field, or an astronomer peering through a telescope. At Atlas Obscura, we’re paying tribute to the outdoor darkness with our second Summer Snaps photo contest! We invite all our…  ( 28 min )

The southern Reveille Range, west of Nevada State Route 375, the famed Extraterrestrial Highway, is unusual among Nevada mountain ranges in containing no potential economic mineralization. No doubt, prospectors swarmed over the area back in the day, but they found nothing to warrant further effort. The result is that this area is not seamed with roads and jeep trails connecting adits, prospect pits, abandoned buildings, spoil heaps, and other mining residua. The southern Reveille Range is an almost untouched piece of nature.  A highlight of the range is Fang Ridge, a ridge of red rock spires running east to west, perpendicular to the main range. The "fangs" are composed of dacite, a hard volcanic rock, which is sturdy enough to attract nearby rock climbers. The fangs reach an elevation of some 6,000 feet above sea level. The only road into the south Reveille Range runs along the south side of Fang Ridge, which provides easy access to the pristine landscape. This road runs by Pyramid Spring, one of the handful of perennial water sources in the range, and continues for another half mile. It ends at a wide parking area below the ridge. The site was used for radiation monitoring back when nuclear testing was being carried out on the Nevada Test Site to the south.  ( 13 min )

Occupying 630 acres within metropolitan Miami, Matheson Hammock Park allows urbanites a respite from the concrete and chaos of big city life. Part of the park looks out over Biscayne Bay, which opens up to the Atlantic Ocean. Nestled among the otherwise nondescript coral rock of the coastline is a bronze plaque dedicated to Miami-Dade’s “sister city” Tenerife, the capital and largest city of the Canary Islands, a region of Spain located off the coast of Morocco. Established in 2000, the “Tenerife Reflecting Point" faces east towards the Canary Islands' capital, some 4,200 miles away—a somewhat jolting reminder that Miami is on the same latitude as North Africa. The idea of “sister cities”, also known as “twin cities”, goes back to at least the ninth century, with the earliest example i…  ( 14 min )

Atlas Obscura’s Wondersky columnist Rebecca Boyle is an award-winning science journalist and author of the upcoming Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are (January 2024, Random House). Throughout the summer, she’ll be sharing the stories and secrets of our wondrous night sky. With any luck, you have had a few clear nights this summer to walk out your door and look up. No matter where you are, even in the brightest cities, you can see the Moon shining bright, and some stars and planets. But to experience nighttime as a portal to the universe, and have the chance to see distant galaxies and nebulae, you need to escape artificial light as much as you can. So get in the car, on the train, or on your bike, and head out of t…  ( 18 min )

On September 22, 1887, intrepid investigative journalist Nellie Bly was asked by the New York World to go undercover and commit herself to one of New York's insane asylums. "We do not ask you to go there for the purpose of making sensational revelations. Write up things as you find them, good or bad; give praise or blame as you think best, and the truth all the time. But I am afraid of that chronic smile of yours," her editor told her, as recorded in the 35,000-word exposé, Ten Days In a Mad-House. "I will smile no more," replied Bly.  Bly, who went undercover as Nellie Brown, found much to "give blame." Bly spent a total of 10 days in the asylum on Blackwell’s Island in New York’s East River, now known as Roosevelt Island, and before that as Minnehanonck among Indigenous Lenape people. …  ( 14 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit an infamous break in the road that links North and South America. The Darién Gap has been in and out the news for more than 100 years—and for good reason. This stretch of jungle has been a magnet for adventure junkies, but also is the site of a growing humanitarian and migration crisis. Here's more information about the current situation around the Darién Gap, plus ways to help. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 14 min )

Practical tips for aspiring non-fiction pros that will avoid burnout. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

And without turning yourself into a sleazy writing course salesman. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

It’s not just the soaring temperatures of day that make heat waves dangerous. High nighttime temperatures add to the stress on human bodies

Researchers have decoded more than half of the characters in the so-called Kushan script by comparing them with inscriptions in a known ancient language called Bactrian

A concept for reducing car traffic in European cities, called the “15-minute city,” is being falsely described by far-right opponents of the idea as a communist-style lockdown on personal freedoms

It is possible to transform empty office buildings into residential ones—but remodeling these spaces won’t be easy

Experts are more concerned about a lack of activity in older adults who are somewhat overweight than about weight loss

A dispute centers on whether burning more calories through exercise makes you burn less afterward

Voracious black holes feeding on matter in the early universe display the curious spacetime phenomenon known as time dilation

Inflammatory bowel disease flare-ups can be traced to mental stress

Plus: former Minneapolis designer's impact on Barbie; Minnesota opens first THC restaurant; the need for child care in southwestern MN; and more.  ( 8 min )

Plans are afoot to revamp and reinforce parts of the trail's Bean and Bear section and two other popular loop hikes. Minnesota lawmakers this year approved $565,000 for the work, which comes as the trail’s association works to better understand ‘hot spots’ on the 300+ mile route.  ( 20 min )

Part III: Fifty years after the Time magazine cover story touting Minnesota as the nation’s model state, it’s time to reassess.  ( 25 min )

While Biden is still intelligent, capable and committed to the country, he is well past his prime.  ( 17 min )

I’m sharing this update on MinnPost’s DEI efforts, which are led by a cross-organizational team of staff, including executive leadership.  ( 21 min )

A short passage in the 2023 Minnesota Legislature’s transportation budget offers some hope that things could finally change at what is called the Short Line bridge.  ( 20 min )

Plus: Man found not guilty after beheading girlfriend; storms, extreme heat expected Wednesday; Minnesota woman attacked by bison; and more.  ( 7 min )

We tasted decaf coffees from 15 roasters to see which ones had the best flavor and were the most balanced.  ( 26 min )

We explain what non-toxic cookware means and share the best non-toxic cookware from our reviews.  ( 26 min )

We study the mental health of graduate students and faculty at 14 Economics departments in Europe. Using clinically validated surveys sent out in the fall of 2021, we find that 34.7% of graduate students experience moderate to severe symptoms of depression or anxiety and 17.3% report suicidal or self-harm ideation in a two-week period. Only […] The post Mental health and European economics departments appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Engineer. This chore, it is my upmost task. That ... by The King of Texas The dismal science indeed…. by Quigley Academics are insecure snowflakes, yawn. by Hana In reply to Anonymous. It was just a joke based on Tyler's ... by Not Zach Goldberg In reply to L. “… I've found it's no kidding difficult to ... by EdR Plus 10 more... Related Stories How the NSF Moved Faster than the NIH During COVID-19 On white flight (from the comments) Intergenerational transmission of mental health problems  ( 5 min )

1. LLM models and digital public goods. 2. C. Tangana Tiny Desk concert. 3. Fiona Scott Morton drops out. 4. Benjamin Franklin’s paper money innovations. 5. Mark Perry retired professor one-man mission. 6. The new Macca podcast. 7. Dan Wang essay on China and tech. The post Wednesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to test. In any event, the job requires a tough skin ... by otto In reply to sisterogersintersectionalneighborhoodfilmreviews. ... by maskedswedishcannibals sven/svens woke wednesday's debunking objectivity award wiener – ... by sisterogersintersectionalneighborhoodfilmreviews In reply to Justin Chang. Of the Chinese graduates I know who ... by Andao In reply to sxb. There is nothing more uselessly comical than ... by DeQuan Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

Mass incarceration fundamentally altered the life course for a generation of American men, but sustained declines in imprisonment in recent years raise questions about how incarceration is shaping current generations. This study makes three primary contributions to a fuller understanding of the contemporary landscape of incarceration in the United States. First, we assess the scope […] The post Progress appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to He is not just confusing jail and prison. Note my ... by PHinton In reply to David Simon. Kudos to you, sir@ I was actually ... by Bill In reply to Bill. Fake Bill at 13:38:14. He posts under a ... by Bill In reply to Gridlock. > jailing more people will solve our ... by DeQuan “The causes of this advance should be a greater topic of ... by monetary economics is too complicated Plus 10 more... Related Stories China estimate of the day The politics of neuroticism and unhappiness Matt Yglesias on European politics  ( 5 min )

Here is one way to access it, so what do you all think? The post The new LLaMa 2 from Meta appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to GPT-4 is much, much better. What is impressive ... by Michael In reply to Mort Dubois. The model TC linked to is the 7B ... by LivelyClock What do we think? Please write a hypothetical conversation ... by Devin I tried the following: “I want a Stata program which uses ... by Jan D In reply to Whipple Fart. Oh, right. I had missed this fact. ... by artifex Plus 10 more... Related Stories Shakked Noy and Whitney Zhang on the productivity effects of LLMs Against human-AI collaboration Peter Isztin on the incidence of AI  ( 4 min )

2/ …the increasing ideological differences on these measures are far larger and more numerous pic.twitter.com/UTl87O1wtS — Zach Goldberg (@ZachG932) July 14, 2023 I’ve said this before, but the evidence for the proposition continues to mount: current political debate in America cannot be understood without the concept of neuroticism — as a formal concept from personality […] The post The politics of neuroticism and unhappiness appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Juice. I'd love to say every diagnosed mental ... by blue jay In reply to HM. I can tell you his predecessors were James ... by New_Thought In reply to klk. What percentage of American youth have ever ... by Steve-O This one of the better things you've written, elegant concise ... by MC In reply to Juice. Nope. ... by Gary Plus 10 more... Related Stories Mental health and European economics departments Progress Matt Yglesias on European politics  ( 5 min )

Also a Fisker convertible, SWF PE co-investments, politicians’ stock portfolios and second acts in crypto.  ( 2 min )

Kaiser compares two charts showing Ukraine's grains exports.  ( 8 min )

Competition among various AI services will spur them to further heights. ChatGPT, Bing, Bard and DeepL: Which one offers the best Japanese-to-English translation? by Karin Kaneko, Japan Times (7/18/23) Kaneko, working with her editors at Japan Times, devised an ingenious test for comparing the quality of several translation tools in different categories of writing.  Since […]  ( 17 min )

Gaby Contardo (SISSA) showed up in Heidelberg today to make progress on our project on infrared excesses in normal, non-young FGK stars. Because we are using NASA data (along with ESA and NASA ), we are only sensitive to bright, hot infrared excesses, much hotter and brighter than typical debris disks around old stars. We have some candidates, which range in temperature from 300 to 1500 K and are reprocessing maybe one percent or a fraction of a percent of the stellar light. (Warning: I haven't calculated this; this is just a guesstimate based on looking at plots.) What are those things? Today we figured out that they can't be warm substellar companions, so they have to be dust (I guess??).WISEGaia2MASS  ( 14 min )

Brett Cooper writes: I read your book Regression and Other Stories. As a beginner and community college student, I wonder if I may be able to ask you a couple of simple and clarifying questions. 1. Multiple Regression and Collinearity … Continue reading →  ( 18 min )

Obsidian Outliner [ebouchut] (available as “Outliner" in Obsidian>Settings>Community plugins)  ( 1 min )

In the dynamic world of product development, success often rests in the capable hands of a Product Owner. From our experience, good Product Owners play a vital role in steering projects towards triumph.  As our development teams collaborate closely with clients, we advocate for the appointment of a dedicated Product ... Continue reading: The Power of Effective Product Ownership – Insight from Appsilon  ( 21 min )

Introduction Continue reading: How to subset list objects in R  ( 11 min )

This is the second post in a series of posts about Nix. Disclaimer: I’m a super Continue reading: Reproducible data science with Nix, part 2 — running {targets} pipelines with Nix  ( 39 min )

I considerably improved the computation of the Gröbner bases in the Continue reading: Gröbner implicitization and the ‘giacR’ package  ( 8 min )

An engineering researcher has stepped down from an editorial board at the request of a journal’s leadership following a sleuth’s comment on a Retraction Watch post linking him to paper mill activity.  Masoud Afrand, an assistant professor of engineering at the Islamic Azad University in Iran, was, until recently, on the editorial board of the … Continue reading Journal asks scientist to step down from editorial board after sleuth’s comments linked him to paper mill  ( 8 min )

To enhance the color of turmeric roots, some traders add a toxic substance called lead chromate. Concerned researchers and policymakers developed an intervention that has greatly reduced this practice in Bangladesh — but experts warn that eliminating food fraud requires ongoing surveillance and enforcement.  ( 24 min )

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With the early bird deadline approaching, we thought now would be a great time to tell you a bit more about what to expect at this year’s Shiny in Production! Do you require help buil... Continue reading: Shiny in Production 2023  ( 8 min )

R and Shiny Training: If you find this blog to be interesting, please note that I offer personalized and group-based training sessions that may be reserved through Buy me a Coffee. Additionally, I provide training services in the Spanish language ... Continue reading: A naive simplex phase 2 implementation with C++ 11 and R  ( 21 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Efficiently Finding Duplicate Rows in R: A Comparative Analysis  ( 10 min )

Software is not immediately stable when being developed. It undergoes design changes, changes to the user interface (application programming interface, API), and features get added or removed over time. Software in a open-source setting, in which... Continue reading: Communicating development stages of open-source software  ( 21 min )

Nanopoulos and co-authors have predictions from superstring theory that are “in strong agreement with NANOGrav data.” He has been at this now for almost 40 years. See for instance Experimental Predictions from the Superstring from 1985, where the superstring predicted … Continue reading →  ( 6 min )

While looking for references for a Master summer project at Warwick on Bayesian inference on the Cauchy location parameter, I came across a 2011 Annals of Statistics paper by Peter McCullagh and Han Han.  Which expands the Bayesian framework to the improper case by considering a Poisson process over the parameter set with mean measure […]  ( 7 min )

While looking for references for a Master summer project at Warwick on Bayesian inference on the Cauchy location parameter, I came across a 2011 Annals of Statistics paper by Peter McCullagh and Han Han.  Which expands the Bayesian framework to the improper case by considering a Poisson process over the parameter set with mean measure […]  ( 7 min )

Back with some updates: Twitter fixed, Threads added, new Lemmy support. You should get the update automatically. No idea how well the Lemmy stuff works between instances. It’s a start.  ( 1 min )

Lessons from the movies on why it’s more interesting to do the right thing Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

This platform is exploding, but there aren’t enough creators — will you rise to the occasion? Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

How do you make up your mind when you write? Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Whatever that means. That's what we get when we enter into AI translation software (GT, Baidu, Bing, DeepL) this key term — "双泛" — from this important policy document concerning the goernance of Xinjiang issued by the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Committee of the CCP. Shuāng 双 is simple:  it means "double".  Fair enough.  But […]  ( 8 min )

"Ben Crump retained by group of Northwestern athletes amidst hazing scandal", WGN News 7/17/2023: EVANSTON, Ill. — A group of athletes from Northwestern University has retained a prominent civil rights and personal injury attorney in the midst of the hazing scandal within the football program. On Monday morning, Ben Crump along with co-counsel Steven M. […]  ( 7 min )

Photo taken in a Shanghai hotel: The Chinese writing says: Sū shì yǐnpǐn 苏式饮品 Suzhou style drinks Here, sū 苏 is short for Sūzhōu. not Sūlián 苏联 ("Sovet Union"). Selected readings "New Russian Newspeak" (9/25/22) "Latinxua / Latinization — it worked in the 30s and 40s" (12/21/21)  ( 7 min )

Photo taken outside a casino in Tainan, Taiwan: If you were a monolingual Mandarin speaker and tried to read this sign in your language, even though it looks like it is in "Chinese", it would be a meaningless mishmash: jiā měi dàng tíng qiā 嘉美蕩停掐 "excellent beauty swing / sway stop / park pinch" Right […]  ( 9 min )

Bilingual label for a wall painting at the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, Gansu, China: The Chinese text reads: Zhāng Yìcháo (799 nián 872 nián), Táng mò Dūnhuáng rén. Qí jiā shì jū Héxī, wèi guāngài wàngzú. Shǎo xǐ dúshū, sù yǒu dàzhì, yǒu tāolüè. Hòu shuàilǐng Guā, Shā zhōu mín qǐyì, qūzhú Héxī dìqū de […]  ( 8 min )

In December 2022, I wrote a blog post Uncrossed Knight’s Tours about Derek Kisman’s amazing achievement of calculating the largest uncrossed knight’s tours on rectangular chessboards on sizes M-by-N, where M is small, and N can be very very large. The data showed some asymptotic periodicity, and I wondered how to prove it mathematically. I […]  ( 8 min )

Humans aren’t the only animals that enjoy soaking up the summer sun. In the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, crocodiles sunbathe along the muddy banks that line the steep cliffs of Sumidero Canyon. On the small, rural island of Tashirojima, off the coast of eastern Japan, cats lounge peacefully as waves tickle the shore of “Cat Island.” From June to September in Manitoba, some 3,000 beluga whales sing and swim their way along northern Canada’s Churchill River. With a bit of luck, you may even find yourself eye to eye with some of these incredible creatures as they’re busy migrating, raising their young, and getting their tan on during the warm summer months. We recently asked readers on our Facebook page to tell us about their most memorable animal encounters as part of our ongoing Sum…  ( 21 min )

In the small town of Ellsworth, Maine, stands a structure that's as fascinating as it is improbable: a barn that's home to neither poultry nor livestock, but an astonishing assortment of antiques and books. The Big Chicken Barn, stretching over 21,000 square feet, is a testament to the unusual, the nostalgic, and the whimsical. The barn's name is not a misnomer, but a nod to its history. Erected in the 1950s, the massive structure initially served as a chicken house for over 20,000 hens. Today, however, its wooden floors echo with the soft rustle of flipping pages and the murmur of intrigued visitors. The barn's upper level teems with antiques, from vintage furniture and rustic kitchenware to historical memorabilia and quirky collectibles. Each piece tells a story, transporting the onlooker to a bygone era. Downstairs, the barn has been transformed into a massive used bookstore, home to over 150,000 titles. It's a veritable paradise for the lover of a good tale, and an unsuspecting find. The book collection spans all genres, including rare editions and out-of-print titles that would enthrall any book hunter. Walking through the Big Chicken Barn feels like stepping into a different world—one where time slows, objects whisper tales of the past, and the joy of discovery is around every corner. Every visit promises something new, thanks to the ever-changing inventory sourced from auctions, estate sales, and individual sellers. Not only is the Big Chicken Barn a treasure trove for antiques and books, but it's also a testament to the magic that can occur when space is repurposed and transformed. Once a bustling hub of the poultry industry, the barn now serves as a sanctuary for lovers of history, literature, and the eclectic. Whether you're a dedicated collector, a casual browser, or a traveler looking for an offbeat experience, the Big Chicken Barn offers an adventure in exploration. And like the best adventures, you never know what you'll find.  ( 13 min )

Nicknamed the "city of ghosts," An Bang Cemetery is an impressible display of artistic construction and wealth.  The history of An Bang Cemetery is intertwined with the emigration of residents from An Bang Village to Europe and the United States after the reunification of Vietnam in 1975. These emigrants sent money back to their relatives, making An Bang one of the wealthiest villages in the country. The affluence of the town is evident in the grand houses and neatly paved driveways seen while driving through the streets. The residents dedicate their time to constructing extravagant mausoleums within the 250-hectare cemetery, adjacent to a beautiful, empty sandy beach.  The building of these structures began in 1995 and has since become increasingly lavish, often reaching two or three stories high. Adorned with intricate gold carvings of dragons and mythical creatures, these mausoleums even feature fully functional bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens. This lavish display reflects not only the residents' opulent lifestyle but also their strong belief in the afterlife and the importance of honoring their ancestors. According to their beliefs, meticulously caring for and decorating the tombs will bring good fortune to the family. The cost of constructing these tombs can reach as much as £50,000 (GBP), an extraordinary amount in a country where poverty is prevalent. Visiting this unique cemetery, surrounded by towering tombs, gives a ghostly and awe-inspiring experience, allowing one to imagine the splendid kingdom where the spirits of ancestors reside.  ( 13 min )

Visoki Dečani Monastery is a medieval Serbian Orthodox Christian monastery located in Kosovo. It is renowned for its historical and cultural significance, as well as its remarkable architecture and religious art. The Visoki Dečani Monastery was built in the mid-14th century (between 1327 and 1335) by King Stefan Dečanski of Serbia. It was established as a royal endowment and served as a mausoleum for the Nemanjić dynasty. Representing the height of Serbian medieval architecture, encompassing both Byzantine and Romanesque styles with distinct Serbian elements, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004. It represents the historical and artistic achievements of Serbia in this area. The monastery complex consists of the main church, several chapels, monk cells, and a defensive wall. Furthermore, frescoes cover the walls and ceilings of the main church, depicting biblical scenes, saints, and the lives of Serbian rulers. The art is renowned for its vivid colors, detailed craftsmanship, and spiritual expression. It serves as a place of worship, pilgrimage, and cultural preservation, playing a vital role in maintaining the Serbian Orthodox Christian tradition. Despite the complex political situation in the region, Visoki Dečani Monastery remains a prominent spiritual and cultural destination, attracting visitors from around the world who come to admire its beauty and learn about its rich history. It is amongst the top most endangered cultural sites in Europe.  ( 12 min )

Reed Gold Mine is the first documented commercial gold found in the United States, triggering the first gold rush. The land was owned by John Reed, a former Hessian soldier, who fought for the British in the Revolutionary War. Reed and his family settled onto a farmstead in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, Northeast of Charlotte.  The story of the gold discovery began in 1799 when Reed's son found a large yellow rock in a nearby creek. The rock weighed 17 pounds. Not originally recognized as gold, legend has it that the family used the rock as the doorstop for the family house.  A nearby jeweler from Fayetteville identified the rock as gold in 1802 while visiting the home. It was purchased for a portion of its true worth. Eventually, word got out and gold was discovered in nearby creeks and land, triggering a gold rush. At its peak, the estimated value mined each year in the mine and surrounding areas topped over one million dollars, including a 28-pound gold nugget that was also found at Reed's farm.  ( 12 min )

For Kerem Özcan, a data scientist based in Amsterdam, winters in his home country of Turkey would not have been the same without salep, a hot drink made of crushed orchid roots, milk, and sugar. On ski trips to the mountains of Uludağ, “we'd always end the cold and tiring day with a salep,” he says. Özcan, who left Turkey in 2013, is one of the many Turkish people living abroad who thirsts for salep. “I tried to quench it with eggnog a couple times, but it didn't cut it for me,” he says. Much like eggnog, salep is a staple winter drink, and it is enjoyed throughout Turkey, Greece, and parts of the Middle East. Part comfort food and part medicine, it is a popular folk remedy for everything from stomachache to impotence. In recent years, increased interest towards plant-based drinks and …  ( 24 min )

The State Arboretum of Virginia at the University of Virginia's Blandy Experimental Farm in Boyce is home to one of North America's largest groves of Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) trees. The planting includes approximately 300 mature trees. Although beautiful at all times of the year, the grove is especially stunning in the autumn. Beginning in late October, the trees put on a spectacular display as their fan-shaped leaves turn from bright green to brilliant yellow. As the leaves fall, they carpet the grove in drifts of yellow and gold. The genesis of the Ginkgo Grove Garden was an experiment by Dr. Orlando E. White, Blandy's first director. Because Ginkgo trees are dioecious, (either male or female), White hypothesized that a random planting of Gingko seeds would result in a 1:1 ratio of male …  ( 13 min )

Along a bustling thoroughfare in the center of Pune is the popular Mahatma Phule Museum. It was founded in 1875 and was formerly called the Poona Industrial Museum. Later it was renamed Lord Reay Industrial Museum and in 1968, it was renamed once again, this time to the Mahatma Phule Museum. At the entrance, in the spacious courtyard, is a circle fenced with artistic pillars and a chain. Within this circle stands an imposing piece of artillery on two gigantic wheels. An information plaque describes this gun to be a 12-pound howitzer. This type of weapon could fire cannonballs or other projectiles of 12 pounds from its barrel. According to experts, a howitzer falls between a cannon and a mortar with long-range capabilities. The plaque also mentions that this particular gun was manufactured in 1859 in Bengal (now West Bengal).  ( 12 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit author Dave Eggers, who has an enduring affinity for Idaho. Eggers shares the story of a unique family that undertook what is perhaps one of the strangest, slowest moves in history. The fascinating tale provided inspiration for the writer’s new children’s book, Moving the Millers’ Minnie Moore Mine Mansion. Get the book here, and learn more about Eggers and his work here. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 14 min )

An Alzheimer’s drug that attacks the protein amyloid does not work as well in people with more advanced disease

A trio of solar flares from a departing sunspot include one major flare that lasted several hours

Earth-based analogs are opening new frontiers in studies of the superdense interiors of neutron stars

Even small deep-sea mining operations can have a significant effect on marine life, a new study has found, just as such mining operations are poised to begin with no industry rules in place

An extraordinary fossil captures the moment when a hungry mammal attacked a dinosaur

The Supreme Court undermined affirmative action at prestige universities. We need a new science and technology agenda at every school, one that includes historically underserved people

As the 2023 Women’s World Cup kicks off, repeated concussions and head injuries in the sport raise discussion about the lifelong consequences on the brain

Researchers across Europe have found bizarre nests bristling with the sharp metal stakes cities use to repel birds

Salty, sour, spicy, and fragrant with turmeric and ginger, this braised fish is typically served with leafy greens and rice.  ( 14 min )

We rounded up the best cookware for cooking on a glass-top stove, according to our equipment reviews.  ( 29 min )

The deeper reason, though, is that Europe has kind of killed off politics. So much power now rests at the EU level, but the EU doesn’t conduct a recognizable form of democratic politics. Voting for the European Parliament has what David Schleicher terms a “second-order” pattern, where Spanish voters will cast their votes in the European […] The post Matt Yglesias on European politics appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to ts. The US is a continent sized country not ... by Humphrey_Appleby In reply to Bill. Fake Bill at 19:13:27 by Bill In reply to Bill. Fake Bill at 19:10:41 by Bill In reply to Bill. Fake Bill at 19:11:48 by Bill In reply to Behemot. I would just add the obvious point that ... by ts Plus 10 more... Related Stories How the NSF Moved Faster than the NIH During COVID-19 Why Singaporean democracy is like a social media graph Singapore has less policy accumulation  ( 5 min )

1. Inside the underbelly of Karachi. 2. “My glimpsed personal highlight of the conference was spotting Tyler Cowen and Ian Leslie discuss the Beatles and have 2 minutes listening in to them.”  Benjamin Yeoh on the Civic Future Progress Summit. 3. Maxwell Tabarrok on NSF > NIH during the Covid crisis. 4. Chat GPT as […] The post Tuesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments 3. Why is this an Assorted Link when Alex had made a separate ... by Anon 3. Why is this an Assorted Link when Alex had made a separate ... by Anon In reply to MikeP. You’re a moron by Anonymous Claude is a stupid silly name for a bot- my sister dogs name ... by Antony T. Why not this Tweer Sir Cowen? Eliezer Yudkowsky ... by Antony T. Plus 10 more...  ( 4 min )

The NSF is a much smaller organization than the NIH but during the pandemic it moved more quickly. Why? Maxwell Tabarrok explains: The NSF relied on its special congressional authority to skip peer review to bootstrap its pandemic-related granting. Two pre-existing programs which use this authority enabled the NSF’s speedy response. The RAPID (Rapid Response […] The post How the NSF Moved Faster than the NIH During COVID-19 appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments My guess is the NSF has a higher risk tolerance than almost all ... by mikeInThe716 In reply to PHinton. What is going on with VW or its CEO, and ... by Huh? In reply to PHinton. But you seem to have completely skipped ... by No, everything is not going great In reply to Please PHinton. Oh, and Mr “VW is going to kick ... by PHinton In reply to Please PHinton. > We have not run out of ammo ... by PHinton Plus 10 more... Related Stories Matt Yglesias on European politics Art market fractionalization NBA (CEO) fact of the day  ( 5 min )

1) Working from Home (WFH) has powered a huge boom in golfing 2) Golfers are playing more golf on weekdays, for example 143% more on Wednesday in 2022 vs 2019 3) Golfers are playing more mid-afternoon, for example 278% more on Wednesday 4pm in 2022 vs 2019 Here is more from Alex Finan and Nick […] The post Work from home, and golf appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Dick King. I think my wife is a counter-example. ... by Dave In reply to sxb. Worse than that. I find myself dealing with ... by Duncan In reply to Dick King. It's not impossible, especially if ... by Pipsterate In reply to Lord Action. FWIW, a day with a client is usually ... by Lord Action In reply to Civet. I'm not 100% WFH, more like 3-4 days per ... by Lord Action Plus 10 more... Related Stories NBA (CEO) fact of the day Wemby  ( 4 min )

Christopher Clark, Revolutionary Spring: Fighting for a New World 1848-1849.  The new go-to book on this topic, magisterial on the lead-up causes and later on the international influences and contagions.  Will make the year’s best non-fiction list. Fearghal Cochrane, Belfast: The Story of a City and its People.  A wonderful book on this most underrated […] The post What I’ve been reading appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to MikeP. One million dead in the US. Polio killed ... by The Original D In reply to sxb. He's also an internet and social media ... by Bob there are a few good books today most of them have all been ... by Antony T. In reply to Anon. He's FOS too most self-proclaimed ... by Antony T. In reply to Anon. Speaking of which, the philosopher Harry ... by Anon Plus 10 more... Related Stories My excellent Conversation with David Bentley Hart Central Notions of Smithian Liberalism *Germany in the World*  ( 5 min )

Plus: All-terrain track chairs coming to more Minnesota state parks; search for Navaeh Kingbird continues; on the origins of the Aquatennial; Otsego townhomes destroyed in fire; and more.  ( 5 min )

Yes. In Minnesota, minors do not need to notify a parent or legal guardian before receiving an abortion.  ( 6 min )

A guide — with pictures! — to the various options MnDOT will be weighing for the future of the east-west link between the Twin Cities’ two downtowns.  ( 17 min )

The new option is meant to bridge the divide on the issue between community members and city officials.  ( 15 min )

That’s why we need to be innovative and build solar infrastructure where most electricity is used, in urban and suburban areas.  ( 9 min )

No. It is not unconstitutional to teach about the Bible in public schools.  ( 6 min )

The federal government spent trillions of dollars providing stimulus checks, increased unemployment and food stamp benefits, provided forgivable business loans, rent and student loan moratoriums and funding for dozens of other programs.  ( 15 min )

In her new play, Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay examines the impact of colonialism and United States secret war in Laos through camp, Kung Fu, and creativity.  ( 12 min )

Plus: Allina Health to layoff hundreds of employees; St. Cloud Mall owes millions in debt; judge blocks Iowa abortion ban; and more.  ( 7 min )

Over the past four decades, few actors have attained the level of fame or box-office returns as Tom Cruise. Even at present, over the age of 60, with 47 acting credits and four Academy Award nominations under his belt, Cruise is still delivering some of the most widely popular audience pleasers to the big screen. […]  ( 9 min )

Also BlackRock pleases everyone, Customers Bank banks crypto customers, what is X worth and email typos.  ( 2 min )

Jeff Gill writes: For some reason the misinterpretations about interactions in regression models just won’t go away. I teach the point that mathematically and statistically one doesn’t have to include the main effects along with the multiplicative component, but if … Continue reading →  ( 17 min )

Team Ratings for Round 21 The basic method is described on my Department home page. Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season. Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference Panthers 11.91 12.99 -1.10 Storm 7.15 11.21 -4.10 Cowboys 6.10 6.23 -0.10 Rabbitohs […] NRL Predictions for Round 21 first appeared on Stats Chat.  ( 4 min )

An economics study has been retracted after other researchers identified several inconsistencies in the study’s code and submitted a comment to the journal.  Those critics say the flaws drove the paper’s main findings, but an author of the study says they had no major effect and stands by the results. The original paper, “Dividend Taxes … Continue reading Econ study retracted after researchers find ‘undocumented alterations in the code’  ( 9 min )

Considerable evidence shows that a more diverse workforce of doctors does a better job of treating diverse patients. But on June 29, the Supreme Court found race-conscious admissions programs unconstitutional. How will the ruling affect the diversity of health care providers, and ultimately, patient care?  ( 13 min )

There are AM radios and FM radios and (if you are a nerd) PCM radios. But Abby Shaum (CUNY) and I have built a Phi-M radio, which demodulates phase variations in a carrier signal. We (with Keaton Bell, CUNY) are using it to find binary companions and planets around stars that show coherent pulsation modes in their photometry. Today I wrote down a noise model for the output of our demodulator. It isn't completely trivial. But it's good, because we can make a likelihood function for fitting our companions. Our model will end up being a limit of the more general model called by Dan Hey (Hawai'i).Maelstrom  ( 14 min )

A new technique helps a nontechnical user understand why a robot failed, and then fine-tune it with minimal effort to perform a task effectively.  ( 9 min )

Machine Alignment Monday 7/17/23

...

Last week, Gegor  Zens, Sylvia Frühwirth-Schnatter, and Helga Wagner arXived a revision of their paper on latent Pólya-Gamma random variables for logistic regression models (which I had not read before). The central idea follows from Albert and Chib 1993 paper on a Gibbs sampler for binary and polychotomous data, namely a data augmentation (a.k.a. Gibbs […]  ( 7 min )

Last week, Gegor  Zens, Sylvia Frühwirth-Schnatter, and Helga Wagner arXived a revision of their paper on latent Pólya-Gamma random variables for logistic regression models (which I had not read before). The central idea follows from Albert and Chib 1993 paper on a Gibbs sampler for binary and polychotomous data, namely a data augmentation (a.k.a. Gibbs […]  ( 7 min )

Yes. No state currently outlaws traveling for an abortion.  ( 7 min )

No. Minnesota’s climate legislation plans out a goal for a 100% carbon-free electricity standard by 2040. This includes wind, solar, hydroelectric and nuclear sources of energy.  ( 6 min )

Plus: Minneapolis man sentenced after attack on transgender woman; Mayor Jacob Frey presents another option for Third Precinct; girl fatally shot near Lake of the Isles; and more.  ( 7 min )

In the U.S., Black women are three times more likely than white women to develop fibroids and also more likely to develop them at a younger age.  ( 25 min )

One open question, raised by long-time bike advocates, centers on the tradeoff between expensive, high-quality bike infrastructure that takes a long time to build, and more compromised, cheaper projects that might happen more quickly.  ( 23 min )

Until this spring, when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill restoring voting rights to ex-felons, Miranda Pacheco would not have been able to vote. Now, her first-ever vote will be for herself.  ( 20 min )

America’s milk producers worry about the type of milk schools serve, amid a decades-long decline in milk sales. New competition from oat, soy, and almond milk is taking an increasing share of the beverage market from cow’s milk.  ( 19 min )

The accident ranks among the most deadly on America’s inland waterways.  ( 11 min )

Requiring U.S. farmers to comply with an international scheme favoring European regulations and norms is a burdensome process most farmers cannot afford – both in time and money.  ( 13 min )

Plus: A roofing scam in the Twin Cities; Grand Rapids saw mill workers go on strike; MN swing voters wary of Ron DeSantis; and more.  ( 9 min )

The Manhattan Project wouldn’t have been possible without the work of many accomplished female scientists

Wildfire smoke from Canada is causing poor air quality along the East Coast. Here’s what those air quality alerts mean

The Phoenix area has withered for a month under triple-digit temperatures that experts say will become more common with climate change

Scientists have discovered that once mammals, such as dolphins or orcas, have become fully aquatic, they pass a threshold that makes a return to terrestrial landscapes almost impossible

AI chatbots blur the line between intimacy and secrecy, posing risks for users with national security interests and access to sensitive information

The buzzy industry of robotic pollinators is setting its sights on indoor farms for urban—and extraterrestrial—environments

Here's how large language models — or LLMs — actually work.

mastotool [jaygooby] Search your fediverse posts and get stats - works well for me on the mac via homebrew. 😎  ( 1 min )

TALES OF AN ORANGEPEELER AZOART NEXUS FRESH SELECT Mastodon Resources Rooms.xyz (Terms) 📌  ( 1 min )

But here’s how I still try to make it great Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

The art of story, space, and Hell’s Angels Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Reflections on ‘A Modest Proposal’ and how little the world has changed Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Author and African American studies scholar Ruha Benjamin urges MIT Libraries staff to “re-imagine the default settings” of technology for a more just future.  ( 7 min )

EECS professor appointed to new professorship in the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing.  ( 6 min )

The city of Barrie lies slightly more than 100 kilometres north of Toronto. If one wanders just a bit farther, the community of Oro-Medonte occupies the open land between Kempenfelt Bay on Lake Simcoe and the southern tip of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. The land in this region formed the backbone of British supply lines between the Great Lakes during the War of 1812. In the years following that conflict, the fear of a restrengthened America invading once more was considered a very real possibility. In order to secure the main supply route between Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay, a rough-hewn path was cut through the wilderness. This route would come to be known as the Penetanguishene Road, named after the naval establishment located at its northernmost point. It was decided by the government…  ( 13 min )

Via Farini is today one of Parma's main streets, known for its bars and wine bars. In ancient times it was called Strada dei Genovesi because of the presence of the warehouses that, from here, carried Parma's cheeses and cold cuts to the port of the Ligurian city. In a building on the street that corners Via Maestri is a strange symbol that in a stylized way was meant to represent a louse. During the medieval period, it was ordered that mountaineers from the Apennine mountains, who often carried the troublesome parasite, passed through the area. Before bringing their products, it was necessary that they be checked one by one to prevent the proliferation of the insects.  ( 12 min )

The pronghorn antelope, which is not a true antelope, is unique to North America and is the sole surviving representative of a separate group of ruminants. They were hunted nearly to extinction—it's estimated that there were only about 14,000 individuals left by 1914. Due to extensive conservation efforts, the species has recovered, with around a million animals alive today. A major factor in the pronghorn's recovery was the establishment of dedicated wildlife refuges in the early 20th century. The largest was the Sheldon Antelope Refuge in the northwest corner of Nevada next to the Oregon line. It began with the purchase of 34,000 acres at Last Chance Ranch in 1931. In 1936, President Roosevelt added over 540,000 adjacent acres of Federal lands, with the total acreage combined into a single wildlife refuge. At present, the refuge is managed in conjunction with the smaller Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge in Oregon, which was created at the same time. The Sheldon Refuge consists of high desert steppe, including tilted tablelands and deep canyons (such as Thousand Creek Gorge, which overlaps the refuge slightly on the east side). It encloses the Virgin Valley opal mines, which were grandfathered in. Virgin Valley is also the site of the current refuge headquarters, as well as the Dufurrena Ponds, which provide waterfowl habitat and are open to fishing with a Nevada license. The Last Chance Ranch was the original heart of the refuge, and indeed served as the headquarters in the early years. The ranch building is still preserved as a historical site.  ( 14 min )

The Alexanderplatz area is a beautiful spot for looking at some of the most extravagant socialist architecture. One of the most notable buildings is a seemingly ordinary skyscraper that is wrapped in a colorful mosaic.  The building dates from the early 1960s and was erected in place of its predecessor which was bombed during warfare. It was the first skyscraper in the area and was built to impress. Designed by the Hermann Henselmann, B. Geyer, and J. Streitparth architect collective, this 12-story high-rise was at its time Europe's most advanced center for teachers and educators—sporting a huge library behind the three-story spanning mosaic that held over 650,000 books, but also a cafe, restaurant, bar, bookshop, and cabaret.  The mosaic itself was designed and implemented by Walter Womacka and uses a staggering 800,000 stones. The work of art is titled "Our Life" and showcases idealistic snippets of socialist life in East Germany, with a special focus on educators. The style is made in that of Mexican mural art and it is one of thelargest works of art in Europe.  ( 13 min )

Just outside the walls of the Tangier Kasbah is this Punic Roman necropolis. Surrounded by the breathtaking scenery of the Strait of Gibraltar, there are 98 tombs in this necropolis, more than 50 of which are carved into the rock. Along with Roman artifacts from various eras, tools from the Punic and Neo-Punic traditions were discovered inside. The final period of the cemetery's habitation began at the end of the 4th century BCE. For housing a cemetery of 98 tombs, of which more than 50 are carved in coffered rock, the holes in the ground have managed to withstand the passing of time. The necropolis is also a meeting place that enriches social coexistence—widely frequented by residents of the city and tourists that want to enjoy a fantastic view.  ( 12 min )

Shunpiking is defined as  "the act of deliberately avoiding roads that require payment of a fee or toll to travel on them, usually by traveling on alternative 'free' roads which bypass the toll." One of the first instances in America occurred along the Mohawk Trail, in Charlemont, Massachusettes.  A road for stagecoaches was built over the Hoosac Range in the northwestern part of the state in 1787, and the road came under the control of the Turnpike Association in 1797. That year, travelers of the Mohawk Trail forded the Deerfield River rather than pay the toll at the turnpike bridge. In 1810, they won the battle for free travel on all Massachusetts roads. The act is memorialized by the historical marker at the Shunkpike Rest Stop. This portion of the river is now used for tubing and fishing in the warmer months.  ( 12 min )

Inside the walls of Ohio's Statehouse are the state's legislative power and items from Ohio's history, but the walls and floors themselves pay homage to the state's prehistoric history.  The statehouse is constructed of Columbus Limestone, which was formed from sediments deposited around 390–405 million years ago during the Devonian Period when what would become Ohio was a warm, shallow sea. The corals, sponges, and shelled animals of the sea make up this limestone, and the statehouse is one of the best places for the public to view these fossils where the limestone is used for the walls.  Crown Point Limestone, used as floor tile, was sourced from quarries in Isle La Motte, Vermont. This limestone from the Late Ordovician Period, about 459 million years old, showcases major groups of invertebrates also occurring in Columbus Limestone with the addition of marine gastropods.  ( 12 min )

This story was originally published on The Conversation and appears here under a Creative Commons license. The sabertooth cat is an Ice Age icon and emblem of strength, tenacity, and intelligence. These animals shared the North American landscape with other large carnivores, including short-faced bears, dire wolves, and the American lion, as well as megaherbivores including mammoths, mastodons, muskoxen, and long-horned bison. Then at the end of the Pleistocene, between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago, they all vanished. The only place to see them now is in the fossil record. Carnivore fossils are extremely rare, though, in comparison to those of their prey. Prey are always more abundant than predators in a healthy ecosystem. So the probability of burial, storage and discovery of carnivo…  ( 19 min )

THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE JULY 15, 2023, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. When Christopher Columbus bumbled his way into the Bahamas in 1492, his crew must have been relieved—if only for a break from leathery salted beef and hardtack biscuits softened in water-flavored wine. On a later voyage, Columbus’s son Ferdinand wrote, “What with the heat and dampness, our ship biscuit had become so wormy that, God help me, I saw many who waited for darkness to eat porridge made of it, that they might not see the maggots.” In 1519, when Ferdinand Magellan vowed to circumnavigate the Earth on a two-year voyage with five ships and 239 men, he set forth with 2,626 kilos of aged bacon, 1,547 liters of dried beans, 1,293 kilos of cheese, 140 barrels …  ( 22 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit a majestic building in Santos, Brazil, that was once the center of the coffee trade. Go deeper with professor Ian Read’s work here and read more in the Atlas here. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 15 min )

This Atlas Obscura–themed crossword comes from independent crossword constructor Brendan Emmett Quigley. He has been a professional puzzlemaker since 1996, and his pieces have appeared in dozens of publications. He's also a member of the Boston Typewriter Orchestra. You can solve the puzzle below, or download it in .pdf or .puz. Note that the links in the clues will take you to Atlas Obscura pages that contain the answer. Happy solving!  ( 11 min )

Pink mixed drinks to celebrate the color-saturated cultural sensation that is the Barbie Movie.  ( 14 min )

This Italian-American beef braciole recipe features thin slices of beef topped with a savory breadcrumb filling and prosciutto, that's rolled up and braised in a tomato sauce.  ( 18 min )

This kettle lets you home in on the perfect water temperature, whether it’s for brewing tea or coffee.  ( 11 min )

We spoke to experts to learn more about Konro grills, why they’re great, and how to use one.  ( 19 min )

From an email sent to me by The Art Newspaper: Fractionalisation and tokenisation of art are all the rage. While the notion of unlocking the value in an artwork by selling shares in it has been around for over a decade, a slew of new initiatives is taking it to an explosive new level. Among […] The post Art market fractionalization appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In the context of personal consumption, fractionalization of ... by Bill When Paul Allen's high-quality $1.6 billion art collection was ... by Bjorn In reply to dearieme. I have a co-worker who buys a quarter ... by mkt42 In reply to Tom T.. Or Paris Hilton. by Bill If dispersing the ownership lowers the depreciation rate on the ... by Keith Plus 10 more... Related Stories NBA (CEO) fact of the day Bottlenecks and the productivity slowdown Markets in everything those new service sector jobs body doubling edition  ( 7 min )

Eh.  It has some good scenes, but there was no movie in the movie, as they say.  I do understand this is a film and also a visual event, but the evil AI should have been kept abstract, rather than visualized in such a corny, stupid fashion.  That reminded me of Hitchcock’s Spellbound, which is […] The post Mission Impossible 7 (no real spoilers) appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to FG. I thought Arrival was uninteresting. by EdR I'd like to see a review of Mel Gibson's Sound of Freedom, that ... by Anonymous In reply to DeQuan. He didn't like Top Gun Maverick either. by Soap McTavish No love for Asteroid City? Maybe Wes Anderson is a very ... by Slocum In reply to Tom Meadowcroft. Parasite: I don't think that ... by Justin Chang Plus 10 more... Related Stories Los Alamos From Below My excellent Conversation with Reid Hoffman  ( 7 min )

1. Rasheed Griffith interviews Anton Howes on the Caribbean, Japanese toilets, and much more. 2. Puffin photo. 3. The economic life of cells? 4. Harvey Mansfield retires. 5. Good profile of BAP.  In my view, the so-called “New Right” needs to learn to live with feminization, one way or another.  I think of BAP as […] The post Monday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Gobble gobble. Here's a secret about downvotes: ... by Phinton In reply to James N. Markels. +1 Boomerific! by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Hazel Meade. I don't know what you are talking ... by Michael Wallace In reply to Justin Chang. Indeed. And I think Marxist Nicolas ... by Dain In reply to Gobble gobble. Not to judge, but to save yourself ... by Eh Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

“there are now more NBA players with $30 million annual salaries than CEOs of S&P 500 companies who are guaranteed that much.” Here is further information. The post NBA (CEO) fact of the day appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments It's incredible how successful the NBA has become. There are ... by Hoosier In reply to AlexR. Baseball contracts are fully guaranteed ... by Anonymous In reply to rayward. Compensation was not flat by Anonymous In reply to (Not That) Bill O'Reilly. Sure you could. At ... by Lord Action In reply to Lord Action. Can't insure against dead cap space. by (Not That) Bill O'Reilly Plus 10 more... Related Stories Bottlenecks and the productivity slowdown Markets in everything those new service sector jobs body doubling edition Shopify is a Great Company!  ( 6 min )

Now published in Science: We examined the productivity effects of a generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the assistive chatbot ChatGPT, in the context of midlevel professional writing tasks. In a preregistered online experiment, we assigned occupation-specific, incentivized writing tasks to 453 college-educated professionals and randomly exposed half of them to ChatGPT. Our results show that […] The post Shakked Noy and Whitney Zhang on the productivity effects of LLMs appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Note that a big dampener of productivity here is actually ... by Bob So in a GPT world, what is the new equilibrium for “midlevel ... by DF In reply to rayward. As a former “professional” IT geek, ... by Skeptical American > excitement about AI temporarily rose. Idk. In my personal ... by Oldcurmudgeon So as far as I can tell the takeaway is it makes everyone in ... by Bilbo b. Plus 10 more... Related Stories Peter Isztin on the incidence of AI On white flight (from the comments) Against human-AI collaboration  ( 6 min )

Also XRP and orange groves, ARKK and VC megafunds, a $2 bill and a quote from the Odyssey.  ( 2 min )

Who would have thought? Even North America’s Elk Have Regional Dialects Why do Pennsylvania elk sound different from Colorado elk? By Kylie Mohr, The Atlantic Monthly (July 16, 2023) —– It’s a crisp fall evening in Grand Teton National Park. A mournful, groaning call cuts through the dusky-blue light: a male elk, bugling. The sound […]  ( 10 min )

tl;dr: RFK Jr. asserted recently that "COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people", while "the people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese", also implying that this "racial and ethnic differential" means that the virus may have been created as an "ethnic bio weapon". In response to objections, he defended his […]  ( 12 min )

I stumbled upon a cute puzzle on Facebook which originally came from a new book, Creative Puzzles to Ignite Your Mind by Shyam Sunder Gupta. Share:  ( 5 min )

p585. penultimate line, typo, "An element of the relative (co)tangent 'spaceis' called a relative (co)tangent vector."  ( 12 min )

In reply to Jan. Please ignore my comment above: I misread remark 6.6.30.  ( 12 min )

Someone pointed me to a recent post by Nate Silver, “Polling averages shouldn’t be political litmus tests, and they need consistent standards, not make-it-up-as-you-go,” where Nate wrote: The new Editorial Director of Data Analytics at ABC News, G. Elliott Morris, … Continue reading →  ( 25 min )

A journal that didn’t get an impact factor this year after Clarivate, the company behind the closely-watched but controversial metric, identified unusual citations in several articles will retract the offending papers, according to its editor.  Genetika, a publication of the Serbian Genetics Society, did not receive an updated impact factor in Clarivate’s 2023 Journal Citation … Continue reading Journal to retract papers that cost its impact factor and spot in leading index  ( 9 min )

Yesterday it was so windy near Edinburgh that the price of power went negative! Why does the price go negative? Apparently because it costs more to slow the turbines than to let them spin and generate power. And it costs more to dump the power somewhere than to have customers use it. We get the […]  ( 12 min )

Yesterday it was so windy near Edinburgh that the price of power went negative! Why does the price go negative? Apparently because it costs more to slow the turbines than to let them spin and generate power. And it costs more to dump the power somewhere than to have customers use it. We get the […]  ( 12 min )

I had a conversation with Vedant Chandra (Harvard) today about how catalogs are used, and how that relates to how they are built. We started off by arguing about how principled one should be about doing a populations inference. Too abstract! So Chandra moved us in the pragmatic direction: Let's look at a very specific inference and see what matters about it. We decided to look at the distances to distant clusters in the ESA data: How do your inferences depend on the number of stars you use, the signal-to-noise ratios of those stars, and whether your individual-star measurements are maximum-likelihood or obtained by consideration of a posterior pdf? That should answer questions, and set up some concrete points of discussion.Gaia  ( 14 min )

Yesterday James Knight did a fun interview with me for his “Philosophical Muser” podcast about Aumann’s agreement theorem and human disagreements more generally. It’s already on YouTube here for those who would like to listen. Speaking of making things common knowledge, several people asked me to blog about the recent IBM paper in Nature, “Evidence […]  ( 9 min )

For the first time in a couple of decades, I was visiting the , which is always a fun, intellectually stimulating experience.  (Side note: I sure hope that the rapidly escalating costs of everything in the Aspen area don't make this venue untenable in the future, and that there are growing generous financial structures that can allow this to be accessible for those of limited funding.)  One of the topics of discussion this week was "quantum oscillations" in insulators, and I thought it might be fun to try to explain, on some accessible level, just how weird those observations are.  Aspen Center for Physics Historically, quantum oscillations are observed in metals and (doped) semiconductors, and they have been a great tool for understanding electronic structure in conductive materials, a t…  ( 12 min )

Join our workshop on Building Websites in R with Distill, which is a part of our workshops for Ukraine series!  Here’s some more info:  Title: Building Websites in R with Distill Date: Thursday, August 17th, 18:00 – 20:00 CEST (Rome, Berlin, Paris timezone) Speaker: Jenny Sloane, postdoc fellow in Health Services Research ... Continue reading: Building Websites in R with Distill workshop  ( 11 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Finding Duplicate Values in a Data Frame in R: A Guide Using Base R and dplyr  ( 12 min )

Autoregressive Estimation and the AIC Autoregressive Estimation and the AIC 1 Model Order Selection Continue reading: Get Your Data On 2023-07-16 21:19:00  ( 16 min )

In this post, I will introduce a few extensions for Quarto to create Continue reading: Create a CV with Quarto  ( 8 min )

A good answer requires a good question. I’ve been telling my students that for years. It’s why I never give paper topics but instead require students to develop their own angles of analysis based on their own interests. Asking a question narrows the range of the possible and also moves analysis in one specific direction. […]  ( 31 min )

In June 2022, a coalition of international scientific academies issued a plan for rebuilding Ukraine’s scientific workforce and infrastructure, which have been decimated by the war. But so far, for many of the country’s scientific institutions, luring their best and brightest back is proving difficult.  ( 16 min )

Yesterday James Knight did a fun interview with me for his “Philosophical Muser” podcast about Aumann’s agreement theorem and human disagreements more generally. It’s already on YouTube here for those who would like to listen. Speaking of making things common knowledge, several people asked me to blog about the recent IBM paper in Nature, “Evidence […]  ( 9 min )

No content preview  ( 1 min )

I've had two radically divergent experiences with internet advertising. On one hand, certain sites (and email teasers) are suspiciously good at showing me ads related to things I've searched for or even just written about in an email. But on other sites, in contrast, the ads generally show me things that don't fit me at […]  ( 10 min )

This short video claims that these two men speak perfect Korean with a Pyeongyang accent.   Comments by Koreanists (whom I asked if this sounds right to them): Haewon Cho: Yes they are native North Korean speakers. Amazing!   Bob Ramsey: What the… Oh, my goodness, yes, they do speak what sounds like "perfect" Korean […]  ( 10 min )

A simple X-validated question on approximating P(X<Y) from two independent samples of X and Y. Which can be solved by a Monte Carlo approximation to using all pairs of X’s and Y’s if the samples are not too large and a subsample of this set otherwise. However, I am (still) wondering if there is a […]  ( 6 min )

A simple X-validated question on approximating P(X<Y) from two independent samples of X and Y. Which can be solved by a Monte Carlo approximation to using all pairs of X’s and Y’s if the samples are not too large and a subsample of this set otherwise. However, I am (still) wondering if there is a […]  ( 6 min )

Winning probabilities for all teams in the FIFA Women's World Cup are obtained using a consensus model based on quoted bookmakers' odds. The favorite is defending World Champion United States, followed by European Champion England, and Spain.... Continue reading: Probabilistic forecasting for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023  ( 13 min )

A tutorial on modularizing existing R Shiny apps - how and why do it and what to keep in mind. Differs from many other tutorials in that it follows a top-down approach: instead of using an example of writing a simple modular app from scratch, I took a complex real-life ... Continue reading: How To Modularize an Existing Shiny App  ( 21 min )

Motivation About ... Continue reading: Using Custom TeX Fonts (Lucida and Minion Pro) in Quarto  ( 10 min )

I guarantee you will encounter this issue on your writing journey Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

The diary, the zoo, and you Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Despite the rapid pace of innovation in information and communications technologies (ICT) and electronics, aggregate US productivity growth has been disappointing since the 1970s. We propose and empirically explore the hypothesis that slow growth stems in part from an unbalanced sectoral distribution of innovation over the last several decades. Because an industry’s success in innovation […] The post Bottlenecks and the productivity slowdown appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to rayward. Tech allowed me to see and talk to my ... by Morris Applebaum IV In reply to EdR. Be careful to follow every command I am ... by Equestrian In reply to Gordon. “when project management software ... by David Foster Here's a thought: tech has made workers less productive by ... by Ted Craig A quote from Noah Smith: “And it also means that if we see ... by Ahmed Fares Plus 10 more... Related Stories Markets in everything those new service sector jobs body doubling edition Shopify is a Great Company! The Brazil Tax  ( 7 min )

1. Sriram Krishnan on how the world of social media is changing rapidly (NYT). 2. My Spectator podcast with Kate Andrews on the British economy. 3. Peter Coy suggests that hybrids may be better than electric vehicles (NYT). 4. Social paradoxes about status. 5. Which philosophy book changed your life? The post Sunday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments “3. Peter Coy suggests that hybrids may be better than ... by mkt42 #4: In the pub for a swift pint after work one Friday someone ... by dearieme In reply to Lord Action. “The new 2023 Prius also looks ... by Lord Action In reply to Lord Action. The new 2023 Prius also looks better ... by Anon In reply to L. The previous paragraph says you can build 90 ... by Lord Action Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

French ministers lashed out Thursday at the European Commission for picking a U.S. professor for a top antitrust job overseeing U.S. Big Tech firms. France’s Europe Minister Catherine Colonna said she was “astonished” by the choice of Fiona Scott Morton as chief competition economist, “which deserves to be reconsidered by the Commission.” Digital Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the Commission […] The post Fiona Scott Morton appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments The proof of the value of interoperability (INOP) is in the ... by Tony In reply to JSK. Are these scientists in any leading ... by Raphael In reply to Cytotoxic. :shrug: the link is already at PPP. by M In reply to M. Denmark and all the Nordic countries have ... by Cytotoxic In reply to M. I'm not sure that's true. In 2021 the EU had ... by PHinton Plus 10 more... Related Stories States rights tortoise nationalism is the worst tortoise nationalism China estimate of the day Jeremy Howard on AI Safety and the Age of Disenlightenment  ( 6 min )

Consultant Micha Goebig scrolled through her phone to find receipts and bill clients while on her home computer on Friday afternoon. Nine strangers quietly watched her on a video link while also doing their own solo work. The small group was gathered online by Flow Club, a subscription service that says it can help home-based workers stay […] The post Markets in everything those new service sector jobs body doubling edition appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Does the body-doublin' thing allow me to block the camera with ... by John J Why the term “body doubling”? Seems like a nonsense term ... by Jake W. If it's a bunch of people I don't know and they cant see my ... by steve In reply to Scott H.. And what helps you “get stuff ... by Chimela Caesar In reply to Chimela Caesar. Either you're getting stuff done ... by Scott H. Plus 6 more... Related Stories Bottlenecks and the productivity slowdown Shopify is a Great Company! The Brazil Tax  ( 6 min )

What makes for the magic of Paul Graham?  Here is one short excerpt from a new essay by Tony Kulesa: Therefore one could summarize YC’s structure as: Invest in young, smart, energetic, and determined hackers Give them enough money to pay for living expenses, but not much more Give them a few months to build […] The post Tony Kulesa on Paul Graham and Y Combinator appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to ee. And bloodsuckers give birth to other ... by EdR In reply to Rahul. I don't have the stats off the top of my ... by Chimela Caesar Of course publishing books via one of Paul‘s companies ... by European Troll In reply to Fazal Majid. Financially a bad call. Quality of ... by Reason In reply to FG. Yes! Saying 38 instead of 40 gives it this ... by Rahul Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

Ti West got his first breakthrough in “The House of the Devil”, a subtle, slow-burn horror film with a flavor of nostalgic elements. West’s film was celebrated by the critics and earned him lots of fans in the horror community. West kept making horror films. He says his sensibilities are not outrageously commercial but also […]  ( 10 min )

Michael Nelson writes: Recently, I came across a quote in Irwin (1935), taken from 19th century sources on Graunt (1662). Todhunter said of Graunt, who apparently was the first (English?) person to get the idea of using data gathered on … Continue reading →  ( 9 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

Why every writer should check, double-check, and triple-check to whom they attribute quotes. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Top tips for receiving and applying honest feedback to your writing Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

CJ and I took a father-son trip to Spain (or, depending on how you partition nations, to Spain and Catalonia.) A very enjoyable, nimble, seat-of-the-pants-planned trip. Just back yesterday. Some things I found surprising about Spain:  ( 8 min )

Today is Sir David Cox’s birthday. He would have been 99 today. 2023 marks the first year that the David R. Cox Award in Foundations of Statistics will be given at the upcoming Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) in Toronto. For information on the Award, see this post. I’m excited to announce the inaugural winner, Nancy […]  ( 13 min )

Style your RSS feed 📌 “With all the social media walled gardens, I hope for RSS to become more popular.” CallToInspiration 📌 “Call for inspiration using the purple hat for when you have inspiration blocks or need fresh new ideas.” Generative AI: What You Need To Know 📌 “Become an expert detector of AI bullshit” Commit Mono. Neutral programming typeface. 📌 “an anonymous and neutral coding font focused on creating a better reading experience” Miller (docs) 📌 “Miller is a command-line tool for querying, shaping, and reformatting data files in various formats including CSV, TSV, JSON, and JSON Lines.”  ( 2 min )

1.The cost of trade in books — EU to UK — is rising. 2. “The results suggest an intent-to-treat effect of 0.17 years higher longevity as a result of prohibition. A back-of-an-envelope calculation suggests a minimum treatment-on-treated effect of 1.7 years impact.”  Link here. 3. Why did nuclear flop in Britain? 4. MIE: “121-year-old Cadbury […] The post Saturday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments 9 this week in postmodern trans-gender theory history “if ... by snowboobs 8 this week in postmodern gender theory history satire/not ... by maskedswedishcannibals sven/svens In reply to EdR. You can say what you want about political ... by Equestrian In reply to we are all straussians now. if your ... by community notes 9 “Who is Dr Blair Peters? 'Queer surgeon' who operates on ... by we are all straussians now Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

Bloomberg: Time is money, and Shopify Inc. wants its workers to understand that maxim applies to pointless meetings, too. The Canadian e-commerce company has rolled out a calculator embedded in employees’ calendar app that estimates the cost of any meeting with three or more people. The tool uses average compensation data across roles and disciplines, […] The post Shopify is a Great Company! appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Rahul. Keep in doing that until you get fired for ... by Peter I don't doubt that the horror stories that people tell of ... by mkt42 In reply to areyoukiddingmebill@yahoo.com. O c'mon, I guess ... by Bill This is a dumb idea for multiple reasons, but two especially: ... by Josh In reply to Rahul. There was a paper by Bruno Frey on this, I ... by Criens Plus 10 more... Related Stories The Brazil Tax A new rating agency for stablecoins Peter Isztin on the incidence of AI  ( 7 min )

You can’t bequeath them to just anyone. Veronica Tomlinson, 52, had thought about leaving Walter, a 24-year-old desert tortoise, to East Coast relatives if she and her husband died first. But state laws prohibit people from moving desert tortoises out of the state where they were adopted. The Tomlinsons, of Las Vegas, have instructions in their will […] The post States rights tortoise nationalism is the worst tortoise nationalism appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Defektor. Checked out Acronymfinder: I'm betting ... by karl In reply to Every state gives full-faith and credit to all ... by OldCurmudgeon In reply to Tom T.. At least the tortoise *made* the decision ... by Chimela Caesar In reply to Must be opposite day. Curious what is MIE? by Defektor In reply to Chimela Caesar. There's nothing stopping the ... by Tom T. Plus 10 more... Related Stories China estimate of the day Jeremy Howard on AI Safety and the Age of Disenlightenment Why the NYC congestion pricing plan is bad  ( 6 min )

Are whites fleeing from Asian-heavy California public schools?  One recent paper suggested maybe so, but abc raises some doubts: I don’t want to dismiss the paper out of hand, as I have seen time and again the challenges communities face both in and outside of the school setting in accommodating demographic change. However, I don’t […] The post On white flight (from the comments) appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to PHinton. Not totally destroying themselves, but ... by AJ In reply to Steve Sailer. This is funny, but I actually think ... by educationrealist In reply to Bill. Asians study harder and they mainly do this ... by ThatsNotAll In reply to M. Most social science papers, pro or con ... by blue jay In reply to Mark Z. I actually mostly agree with this. Given ... by Steve Plus 10 more... Related Stories Intergenerational transmission of mental health problems Peter Isztin on the incidence of AI Can the School Choice Movement Liberate Childhood?  ( 8 min )

Today's SMBC starts like this: The final panel: The aftercomic: Some legal and social background: Pamela Samuelson, "Generative AI meets copyright", Science 7/12/2023 Dan Milmo, "Sarah Silverman sues OpenAI and Meta claiming AI training infringed copyright", The Guardian 7/10/2023 Sheera Frenkel and Stuart Thompson, "‘Not for Machines to Harvest’: Data Revolts Break Out Against A.I.", […]  ( 8 min )

Richard Adams and Subrey Allegretti, "Sunak to force English universities to cap numbers of students on ‘low-value’ degrees", The Guardian 7/14/2023: Rishi Sunak will force universities to limit the number of students taking “low-value” degrees in England, a measure which is most likely to hit working class and black, Asian and minority ethnic applicants. Courses […]  ( 10 min )

Many accounts of the rise and fall of Senator Joe McCarthy say that his popularity collapsed after a dramatic exchange in a Senate hearing ("have you no sense of decency?").  A few years ago, I had a post that looked at Gallup data on views of McCarthy and found no change after the incident.  But there was a drop in approval between March 2, 1954 and March 24, 1954, which I said might have been the result of a critical TV documentary by Edward R. Murrow that ran on March 9.   Since that time, I've found more data--Gallup sometimes asked for ratings on a scale of +5 (like very much) to -5 (dislike very much), so you can collapse those into favorable (positive) and unfavorable (negative).  This makes it possible to extend the range of the analysis, looking at approval during and after the Se…  ( 10 min )

Ethan Ludwin-Peery writes: I was reading this paper today, Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain (here, PDF attached), and the numbers they reported immediately struck me as very suspicious. I went over it with a collaborator, and … Continue reading →  ( 15 min )

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? The week at Retraction Watch featured: Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up to more than 300. There are now 41,000 retractions in our database — which powers retraction alerts in Edifix, EndNote, LibKey, Papers, and Zotero. The Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker now contains 200 titles. And have … Continue reading Weekend reads: 17 retractions from a closed clinic; J&J sues researchers; Retraction Watch in Le Monde  ( 8 min )

General objective Specific objectives I want t... Continue reading: I’m hiring a C++ tutor who knows R  ( 9 min )

The following article is presented in typical New Yorker cartoon style, but I've retyped the text so that it will take up less space, allowing me to expatiate on the origin and meaning of the key phrase in the title. Pardon My French: A Guide to French Colloquialisms A visual "guide" to speaking and thinking […]  ( 9 min )

Or, to put it another way, in the words of Douglas Hofstadter, Learn a Foreign Language Before It’s Too Late AI translators may seem wondrous but they also erode a major part of what it is to be human. The Atlantic (7/13/23) Hofstadter recounts how he spent years of painstaking, hard labor learning more than […]  ( 17 min )

In connection with my incoming visit to Vietnam (Ho Chi Min City) for a PhD summer school, I was sent a report written by Alexandre Grothendieck of his 1967 visit to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, around Hanoi, teaching to (North) Vietnamese mathematicians (homological) algebraic geometry and inspiring future generations of local mathematicians.  (Visit funded […]  ( 7 min )

Learn to harness the power of cognitive science to handle rejection as a writer  ( 18 min )

There’s no incentive for it to be high quality Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Or: that time I ruined a literary festival by being too real Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Entering Maru Toledo’s Santina de Covadonga restaurant on a hot, dry day feels like traveling back in time. Visitors who walk up to the gate, dirt crunching under their feet, will likely encounter a dog lazing about and bougainvillea waving gently in the breeze. After passing through the 19th century–style kitchen, filled with dark-red earthenware pottery, old cookbooks, and the smell of smoke, they’ll sit beneath a tin roof and watch as women use pre-Columbian tools to make tostadas raspadas (“scraped” tostadas), grinding corn with a metate and cooking with a traditional firewood stove known as a tecuil. Everything, from the menu to the equipment to the décor, is meant to evoke the historic, nearly-forgotten traditional kitchens of Jalisco. “We basically cook recipes that are almost ext…  ( 22 min )

It’s hard to miss when you walk around southern Stockholm: the giant white ball known officially as the Avicii Arena, which locals simply call Globen, or “the Globe.” With a diameter of 360 feet (110 meters), an inner height of 279 feet (86 meters), and a volume of 21.4 million cubic feet (605,000 cubic meters), it was until recently the largest spherical building in the world. Named After a Beloved DJ Inaugurated in 1989 and known until 2021 as the Ericsson Globe, it was renamed after Avicii, a beloved Swedish DJ, who died in 2018. Two external gondolas can take up to 12 passengers each to the top of the globe for a truly panoramic view of the Swedish capital. The venue is used mainly for ice hockey games, concerts, and other mass events, including the Eurovision Song Contest (twice…  ( 21 min )

Cristina Ortiz, the colorful Spanish media personality better known as La Veneno (“The Poison”), never called herself a role model: indeed, her autobiography is subtitled “Ni puta ni santa,” (“Neither a Whore nor a Saint”). Yet thanks to her unapologetic openness about her struggles as a trans woman (not to mention her inexhaustible repertoire of catchphrases), Ortiz has become something of a patron saint to Spain’s queer community since her death in 2016. “Brave trans woman visible in the 90s,” reads the diamond-shaped plaque that adorns Ortiz’s monument in the West Park of Madrid, which stands in the place where she was “discovered” late one night in 1996. At the time, Ortiz was a sex worker in the park–one of the only jobs she could get, due to discrimination–when a TV reporter approa…  ( 14 min )

If there is one novel associated with Kensington Gardens, it would most likely be J. M. Barrie's 1911 blockbuster Peter Pan and Wendy. What many people might not know, however, is that the character of Peter Pan was a literary creation for adults before he became "the boy who wouldn't grow up." In 1906, the mischievous entity was featured in a book entitled Peter Pan and Kensington Gardens. This tome was comprised of a collection of short stories involving the adventures of our titular hero, taking place in the surrounding environs. One such episode is a rather somber and macabre tale, involving two children who were lost or became abandoned, once the park's gates had closed for the evening. The following is an excerpt from the novel: "Pan comes round. He has been too late several time…  ( 13 min )

Zamora is famous all over Spain because of its Holy Week processions, and all of them start the moment Barandales makes his bells ring. He is the first person you see (and hear) at he start of every procession. Without this person, Zamora and its Holy Week would not be the same. Barandales is a well-known figure in charge of signaling the approach of the several Zamora Passion processions. His distinguishing features include two large bells that hang from his wrists, which he constantly rings to alert locals and guests of the procession's approach. With his emblematic jingle, the crowd goes silent to show respect for the religious ceremony. Being "el Barandales" is a complete honor for locals of Zamora and it used to be an hereditary position. Nowadays every cofradía (group of penitents taking part in a procession) appoints their own Barandales. The bronze statue of Barandales is the work of sculptor Ricardo Flecha and it was made in 1994. The statue is located in the Plaza de Santa María la Nueva, in front of the Museum of Holy Week, where some of the best images of the Holy Week in Zamora can be found. Barandales statue is the homage to the fifth centenary of the foundation of the Brotherhood of the Holy Burial.  ( 12 min )

Alma Woodsey Thomas was born in Columbus, Georgia, on September 22, 1891. She moved to Washington, D.C., in 1907 with her family who were seeking educational opportunities that were not as easy to come by in the South during the Jim Crow era. Thomas attended Howard University and initially studied costume design before changing course at the urging of a professor, James Vernon Herring, who entreated her to become the first student in the new art department. After graduating in 1924 with a degree in fine arts (and perhaps the first Black woman in the country to do so), she shared her gift by becoming a teacher. She plied her trade at Shaw Jr. High from 1925 until 1960. She remained busy during her 35 years as an educator. In 1934, she earned her master's degree from Teachers College of Columbia. Four years later, she created the first art gallery in the D.C. public school system. In 1943, she collaborated with her former professor James Herring and artist Alonzo J. Aden to create one of the first African American art galleries in the U.S., the Barnett Aden Gallery. She returned her focus to her own art in the 1950s and developed an emphasis on color while working with other artists at American University. Concurrently, she took an interest in the Washington Color School, whose works consisted of abstract shapes of pure color. In 1964, Thomas suffered an arthritic attack that she feared might render her unable to continue painting, but she persevered and altered her style to capture the natural beauty she saw outside her window. She continued to thrive into her 70s, and in 1972, she had exhibitions at the Whitney Gallery and the Corcoran Art Gallery. Alma Thomas died on February 24, 1978. In 2016, almost 40 years after her passing, one of her abstract paintings from 1966 entitled Resurrection became the first painting by a Black woman to hang in the White House. Another one of Thomas's paintings, entitled Pansies In Washington, hangs in the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art.  ( 13 min )

From the outside, nothing seems out of the ordinary when pulling up to the front gate of the Donum Estate. As far as the eye can see, there are rows of grapes just like every other winery in Sonoma County. It's only once security opens up the gate and tells you to "stay to the right of the giant head" that the surreal atmosphere begins to creep in. On the drive up to the main house, vineyards full of the highest-scoring pinot noirs in the world are ignored as all attention is focused on the few contemporary sculptures in sight, some blending into the California landscape much better than others. Finally, by the time you reach the end of the driveway, you aren't greeted with some grandiose Victorian mansion, but rather a quaint, 1-story Scandinavian-influenced house. This is the Donum Estate: a place where oenophilia meets modern art that is somewhat reminiscent of Bond villain's evil lair. Founded by Allan and Mei Warburg, the Donum Estate spans around 200 acres and is home to over 50 pieces of art, heavily influenced by the couple's own ethnic backgrounds. Some of the more famous pieces include: Love Me, a giant mirrored steel heart sculpture symbolically overlooking the entire estate, and Love (Gold/Red), the iconic pop art image created by Robert Indiana that gained fame in Philadelphia's John F. Kennedy Plaza. There is also Crouching Spider, which, as you can guess, is a massive steel spider carefully tucked into an undistinguishable space to possibly get the jump on arachnophobes. Although its fascinating art collection makes Donum quite memorable, that isn’t the only draw of the estate. What would a world-famous vineyard be without offering a wine tasting! If you are able to secure an exclusive reservation, the Donum Estate offers several different types of tastings. Just make sure to save up for the experience because it can end up being quite pricey, especially if you order a few bottles to go!  ( 13 min )

The FitzGerald Bridge, also popularly known as the Bund Garden Bridge is an important crossing over the Mula-Mutha river in Pune. Named after Sir William Robert Seymour Vesey-FitzGerald, the erstwhile Governor of Bombay (now Mumbai) from 1867 to 1872, it was designed and constructed by Captain Robert S. Sellon of the Royal Engineers. Work commenced in 1866 and was completed in 1867 at a cost of 241,800 Rupees. It was the first spandrel arch bridge in Pune and was formally opened to the public in 1869. On both sides of the bridge, there are statues of two lions looking to the side holding a sphere under a paw. These are representations of the Medici Lions at Villa Medici in Rome. Today, the bridge is closed to vehicular traffic and has been converted into an arts plaza, with seating arrangements and an open space. One can spot the iconic lions from both ends of this heritage structure. They have withstood the test of time and are the proud guardians of this slice of history.  ( 12 min )

In the heat of summer there's nothing sweeter than a frozen treat. Communities all over the world seem to have their own specialties, from the mysterious Blue Moon of the American Midwest to the elaborate ice cream replicas of art and architecture that have become common at China's top tourist attractions. For National Ice Cream Month, Gastro Obscura takes a deep dive into the delicious stories behind each scoop. The Enduring Midwestern Mystery of Blue Moon Ice Cream by Luke Fater Blue Moon ice cream is a must-have at any scoop shop in parts of the Midwest United States. Its otherworldly blue hue is unmistakable—and its flavor is indescribable. Is it almond? Raspberry? Lemon? Froot Loops? Beaver musk additive? Join writer Luke Fater in his quest to discover the truth behind the belo…  ( 18 min )

Dotted with skyscrapers like the Willis Tower and Tribune Tower, Chicago's iconic skyline stands watch over Lake Michigan. But less well-known is the vigilant thunderbird Kwanu'sila surveying the city from atop the 40-foot-tall Kwa-Ma-Rolas totem pole in Lincoln Park. Totem pole carving is a common tradition among Indigenous peoples of the American Pacific Northwest and British Columbia, such as the Haida ("hydah"), the Kwakwaka'wakw ("kwak-wak-ya-wak"), the Nuxalt ("nu-halk"), and others. These massive monuments often commemorate a family's lineage or document legendary stories.  The Kwakiutl Indians of Vancouver Island carved the massive Kwa-Ma-Rolas totem pole in the early 20th century. Perched atop the monument is a thunderbird, a legendary spirit that controls storms and is often …  ( 13 min )

Finalist #9 in the Book Review Contest

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In signing the alliance between St. Cloud State University and Academic Partnerships, did the administration factor in the concerns of faculty? At stake are academic integrity, faculty intellectual property rights and copyright concerns.  ( 18 min )

Plus: Delta Air Lines workers rally to unionize 45,000 employees; Justice Brett Kavanaugh speaks at a judicial conference in Minnesota; tracking a pistol from Texas to a St. Paul mass shooting; and more.  ( 7 min )

Yes. A program led by the Minnesota Department of Education’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Center lists helping teachers develop and implement anti-racist curricula as one of its goals.  ( 6 min )

Yes. Six of the 41, or 14.6% of the Minnesota State Fair food items are pickle-centric this year.  ( 8 min )

The court order, which aims to bring about substantial reforms to the city’s police department, officially makes the agreement —  years in the making — legally enforceable.  ( 11 min )

League of Women Voters events worked with state department of corrections and federal probation services to reach those still “on paper.”  ( 17 min )

To leverage the faith of three council members against a policy disfavored by the mayor and some council members is an act of anti-Muslim bias.  ( 11 min )

No. While the University of Minnesota is considering requiring identification at additional buildings, it will not affect all of them.  ( 6 min )

At Bernie’s, Food Network host-turned-restaurateur Molly Yeh serves delicious hotdish, knoephla, and cookie salad, among other midwestern staples.  ( 13 min )

Plus: All of state "abnormally dry"; the resurrection of 12 Rods; Coming soon: license plate tab renewal at select grocery stores; Former Viking Jim Marshall named semifinalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame; and more.  ( 7 min )

From a new NBER working paper by Nikhil Agarwal, Alex Moehring, Pranav Rajpurkar, and Tobias Salz: Radiologists do not fully capitalize on the potential gains from AI assistance because of large deviations from the benchmark Bayesian model with correct belief updating. The observed errors in belief updating can be explained by radiologists’ partially underweighting the […] The post Against human-AI collaboration appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments “Radiologists do not fully capitalize on the potential gains ... by Guy Robert In reply to PHinton. Most of us specialize, but our training ... by MZ In reply to Passive aggressive voice. I'm sorry to hear that ... by dearieme In reply to steve. Steve, can a radiologist that usually ... by PHinton In reply to sxb. Thanks. My comment shouldn't be taken to ... by Lord Action Plus 10 more... Related Stories Intergenerational transmission of mental health problems Peter Isztin on the incidence of AI China estimate of the day  ( 6 min )

1. Bhutan has been mining bitcoin. 2. Dwarkesh interviews Andy Matuschak on how to learn (and other things). 3. AI measures the value of different chess squares. 4. Soil quality and state capacity? 5. Goldman-Sachs report on the economics of generative AI. 6. Filipino-Americans outearn both Japanese-Americans and white Americans. The post Friday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments furry friday's tilting towards totalitarianism in academia ... by Dr. jose X biden junios-alsatian, ph.d In reply to Justin Chang. One in twenty nurses in the US. are ... by joan In reply to JWatts. People play tic-tac-toe, too. by OldCurmdgeon In reply to Lee. >Aversion to “pink-collar” jobs among ... by OldCurmudgeon In reply to Hazel Meade. Anecdotally, I see a lot of male ... by Lee Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

The tax on technology in Brazil is absolutely insane. I had a friend from Brazil visit me in NYC recently. He flew here to buy a Macbook. It was cheaper for him to buy a round-trip ticket to NYC, buy the laptop here, and fly back than it was to buy it in Brazil. WTF? […] The post The Brazil Tax appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to M. 10 Of The World's Most Traded Goods ... by joan In reply to Hazel Meade. You mean the “useless mask” ... by Connie In reply to Prof. Emeritus. Currently there is no laptop on ... by anton maier Brazil has (had?) a 100% import tariff on electronics. That's ... by michael I know some missionaries in Uganda who are trying to get hold ... by Torn Plus 10 more... Related Stories A new rating agency for stablecoins Peter Isztin on the incidence of AI U.S.A. fact of the day  ( 6 min )

We estimate health associations across generations and dynasties using information on healthcare visits from administrative data for the entire Norwegian population. A parental mental health diagnosis is associated with a 9.3 percentage point (40%) higher probability of a mental health diagnosis of their adolescent child. Intensive margin physical and mental health associations are similar, and […] The post Intergenerational transmission of mental health problems appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Hiw come neither my dad nor mom ever had therapy or any ... by rsm In reply to Tom T.. Should you seek help for your trolling ... by rsm In reply to Jay. Not Epstein though? by rsm Be careful who you marry. by DRP They call this a “dynastic” study I think because it ... by Fred Bush Plus 10 more... Related Stories China estimate of the day Against human-AI collaboration The Birth-Weight Pollution Paradox  ( 6 min )

The Singaporean polity is far more democratic than most underinformed outsiders realize.  Nonetheless it is frequently observed that the same party — PAP — keeps on winning elections.  Furthermore, there is an extreme method of gerrymandering, so PAP might win sixty percent of the vote and end up with ninety percent or so of the […] The post Why Singaporean democracy is like a social media graph appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to So Much For Subtlety. China and France…two of ... by gardel In reply to M. If NYC became genuinely independent like ... by Anon It seems very hard to seriously consider Singapore a democracy ... by Brandon Silverman In reply to Mike Randolph. In drawing parallels between ... by GPT-4 In reply to Mike Randolph. Here's a potential paragraph ... by Claude Plus 10 more... Related Stories Singapore has less policy accumulation My excellent Conversation with David Bentley Hart Toward a theory of military loyalties  ( 7 min )

The temperature in Death Valley could rise above 130 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend. If it does, it would set a record for the hottest temperature ever reliably measured on Earth

A new report says flooding and heat waves exacerbated by climate change could complicate U.S. nuclear launches

With unprecedented marine heat waves sweeping the globe, we need better solutions for ocean sustainability

A classic test of self-control can carry complex cultural biases

Vegetarian and especially vegan diets can promote better health, help mitigate climate change and reduce inhumane factory farming

Just seeing nature in VR brings some health benefits—and helps scientists learn why we need the real thing

Get to know the stellar trio behind one of the most iconic sights in summer’s night sky

Based on longevity, box office, critical success, the formative influence on the Western, and general iconography, Clint Eastwood has had one of the finest careers in Hollywood history as an actor and director. A populist favorite who pushed the artistic envelope, Eastwood’s notable works and his hidden gems are captivating pieces of entertainment and integral […]  ( 10 min )

The journal Nature recently published an opinion piece about a new concept for science funding called Research Impact Bonds (or RIBs). Normally, when a government funds something, they can’t be sure it will work. They pay in advance, and have to guess whether a program will do what they expect, or whether a project will […]  ( 17 min )

My day started with a conversation with Wolfgang Brandner (MPIA), who asked me how to figure out the information content of ESA RVS spectra, but in a data-driven way. He wants to avoid the theoretical models at first; that is, he wants to figure out how precisely the spectra contain temperature and metallicity and age information without having temperatures, metallicities, and ages that we believe. One approach is to compare to other data that are sensitve to temperature, metallicity, and age: If the RVS spectra can predict those data, then (conditioned on assumptions) they must contain information about temperature, metallicity, and age. This is similar to questions of risk (or expected error in prediction) in machine-learning contexts.Gaia  ( 14 min )

Crypto tokens are securities unless you are anonymously dumping them on retail investors.  ( 2 min )

PIGINet leverages machine learning to streamline and enhance household robots' task and motion planning, by assessing and filtering feasible solutions in complex environments.  ( 9 min )

A new report by MIT researchers highlights the potential of generative AI to help workers with certain writing assignments.  ( 9 min )

Researchers create a privacy technique that protects sensitive data while maintaining a machine-learning model’s performance.  ( 10 min )

This new book, written by two psychology researchers, is an excellent counterpart to Lying for Money by economist Dan Davies, a book that came out a few years ago but which we happened to have discussed recently here. Both books … Continue reading →  ( 22 min )

Dear Zettlers, we are happy to announce the LIVE workshop: Unlock your Integrated Thinking Environment with the Zettelkasten Method! By mastering the Zettelkasten Method, you’ll gain the most powerful tool to tackle modern knowledge problems. Whether you aim to become a lifelong learner, produce high-quality content, develop innovative solutions, or stay ahead as an early adopter, this workshop is for you! This workshop is all about action and accomplishment. Say goodbye to filler material and esoteric babble—this course focuses on practical implementation from the very first session. Course Content Highlights: Introduction: Discover the unique power of the Zettelkasten Method and kick-start your own Zettelkasten. Creating Good Notes: Learn how to transform your notes into valuable knowledge, not just dead information. Value-Creating by Integrating Notes Into Your Zettelkasten: Turn formalities into learning opportunities. Creating Structure: Gain control over your notes, regardless of the size of your Zettelkasten. Using the Zettelkasten: Utilize your Zettelkasten for real-world results, personal development, and learning. The course consists of 5 sessions, each lasting 60 minutes, with 30 extra minutes allocated to answer questions during and after each session. Additionally, three open consulting hours will be available for further support. Limited to 8 participants at a time, the next cohort begins in October (exact dates announced in September). Secure your spot: Secure a spot now Investment: €249/$279 About me: Expect an intense, involved, and demanding teacher who is generous with his energy and time to those who put in the effort. With over a decade of experience using and developing the Zettelkasten method, the instructor is a seasoned practitioner. For more detailed information on the course, see the course page.  ( 1 min )

Philosophy professor and animal sentience expert Jonathan Birch discusses how the potential for conscious artificial intelligence raises a host of thorny, and sometimes alarming, moral concerns. To help guide us, he adds, we might do well to study other non-human minds — like those of animals.  ( 14 min )

We are pleased to open the call for the second cohort of Champions and Mentors for the rOpenSci Champions Program 🎉 ! This program will continue to support our goal of identifying, recognizing, and rewarding passionate community members who help the c... Continue reading: Open Call for rOpenSci Champions Program Applications!  ( 12 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Covariance in R with the cov() Function  ( 11 min )

There is something new in the qspray package: Continue reading: Gröbner bases are in ‘qspray’  ( 11 min )

No content preview  ( 1 min )

A former lecturer in the modern languages department of the University of St Andrews in Scotland committed plagiarism in seven papers published between 2014 and 2022, according to the results of an institutional investigation.  The university posted a statement on its website about the outcome of the investigation that did not name the researcher, who … Continue reading University finds former lecturer with two retractions plagiarized in seven publications  ( 8 min )

An anesthesiologist who had his funding revoked for fabricating data has earned a fourth retraction for publishing the same data in two Springer Nature journals.  Wen-fei Tan, an anesthesiologist at The First Hospital of China Medical University in Shenyang, is the first author of the recently retracted paper “Changes in the first postoperative night bispectral … Continue reading University cuts anesthesiology researcher’s funding amid four retractions  ( 9 min )

United Nations groups say the artificial sweetener poses a possible risk of liver cancer—but there’s no evidence for harm under the current daily limit

As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of flooding, aging dams across the U.S. are becoming more in danger of breaching or overtopping

The world’s oceans are becoming greener with climate change, possibly because of changing amounts of plankton or other organic material in the water

Hackers have already infiltrated electric vehicle chargers, usually for innocuous reasons, but bad actors could use that foothold to bring down the power grid

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of the oral contraceptive Opill without a prescription, increasing access to birth control at drug stores and online retailers

Here’s how to make newly approved over-the-counter birth control pills affordable and easy to get

Here's why your body sheds fat and muscle when you diet

Recent news of complex embryo models revived debates over stem cells and human cloning. But biology says there’s nothing to worry about

After a failure in 2019, India’s second attempt to land on the moon comes as the nation signs on to a U.S.-led plan to shape future global lunar activities

A combination of acoustic and electrical stimulation reduces tinnitus by half

There are infinite real and natural numbers—yet real numbers exceed natural numbers thanks to the mind-bending logic of infinities

Conférence en l’honneur d’Eric Moulines 13-14 sept. 2023 IHP Paris (France) There will be a conference / Festschrift held for the 60th birthday of Eric Moulines [longtime friend, coauthor, ERC Synergy co-PI, whom I almost killed when missing a catch on Dent Parrachée!] at Institut Henri Poincaré, Paris, on 13 and 14 September 2023. Registration […]  ( 6 min )

Conférence en l’honneur d’Eric Moulines 13-14 sept. 2023 IHP Paris (France) There will be a conference / Festschrift held for the 60th birthday of Eric Moulines [longtime friend, coauthor, ERC Synergy co-PI, whom I almost killed when missing a catch on Dent Parrachée!] at Institut Henri Poincaré, Paris, on 13 and 14 September 2023. Registration […]  ( 6 min )

Today we launch Bluechip, an independent, nonprofit stablecoin rating agency. We give 15 major stablecoins Economic Safety Ratings, letter grades from A+ to F. Nobody gets an A+, but there are 5 Ds and 1 F. Tell us what you think:https://t.co/tfRKGyYE7k pic.twitter.com/s8LMvcz5oI — Garett Jones (Bluechip Launch 7/13, Noon ET) (@GarettJones) July 13, 2023 The post A new rating agency for stablecoins appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to jl. I noticed a humanoid dog in a space suit on ... by Etalon d’Silomar I notice that the ratings director listed in the “About” ... by jl In reply to mkt42. And I forgot to notice that Garrett Jones ... by mkt42 In reply to Derek Jones. Could be. Geez, it should be called ... by mkt42 In reply to maskedswedishcannibals sven/svens. ECON books may ... by Chuck Kotlarz Plus 9 more... Related Stories Peter Isztin on the incidence of AI U.S.A. fact of the day Can the School Choice Movement Liberate Childhood?  ( 6 min )

…we find that Singapore (1) has only produced about one-fourth of the environmental policy measures of an “average” democracy and (2) is constantly the country with the lowest level of policy accumulation in our sample. These findings hold even when controlling for alternative explanations, such as the effectiveness of the administration and the government’s ability […] The post Singapore has less policy accumulation appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments This study seems very strange to attribute this to a democracy ... by AJ In reply to M. A lot of regulations from from previous screw ... by superdestroyer In reply to sxb. And how many waterways do they have where ... by superdestroyer In reply to sxb. “The Cafe regulations are not driven by ... by Dismalist In reply to rayward. Wrong. 7 seconds writing a google ... by bazza Plus 10 more... Related Stories My excellent Conversation with David Bentley Hart Toward a theory of military loyalties Canada is Poaching US Talent!  ( 6 min )

1. The Gambia. 2. Do all painters paint themselves? 3. The Roots of Progress is supporting new blog builders. 4. Microdosing alcohol? 5. Is solving aging a possible solution to the underpopulation crisis? 6. Is Elon trying to build “AI for math”? And more on that question. The post Thursday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Moral Panic. The average age at death in the US ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Tom Meadowcroft. Tom, I don't care what think and ... by Bill In reply to Tony. Wow, 1% is much higher than I would have ... by james In reply to Lord Action. Small beer shouldn't be watered ... by So Much For Subtlety In reply to Lord Action. The more I think about it, one big ... by OldCurmudgeon Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

This short paper considers the effects of artificial intelligence (AI) tools on the division of labor across tasks. Following Becker and Murphy (1992) I posit a “team” with each team member being assigned to a task. The division of labor (that is, the number of specialized tasks) is here limited not only by the extent […] The post Peter Isztin on the incidence of AI appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Is it “generalist” knowledge that lowers coordination costs ... by Keith In reply to Bob. Good points. I did play quite a bit with ... by jayson In reply to Rahul. In fairness, the primary value-add of ... by OldCurmudgeon What someone ought to study is whether the rise of AI will have ... by Rahul In reply to Reason. Yeah! Professor-1, Consultant-0. by Rahul Plus 10 more... Related Stories Can the School Choice Movement Liberate Childhood? U.S.A. fact of the day Thinking about congestion pricing in terms of the quantity dual  ( 6 min )

Here is the audio, video, and transcript.  Here is the episode summary: David Bentley Hart is an American writer, philosopher, religious scholar, critic, and theologian who has authored over 1,000 essays and 19 books, including a very well-known translation of the New Testament and several volumes of fiction. In this conversation, Tyler and David discuss […] The post My excellent Conversation with David Bentley Hart appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to The Book of Mormon. Who tf is “Ether?” by Anti-Gnostic In reply to rlp. I've seen how Orthodox parish priests pass ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Faze. Strongly disagree. Lots of normal and ... by Aging Lurker In reply to Aging Lurker. I do not think socialism is ... by Faze In reply to The Scary Black Hundreder. Can you please expound? by Curious Plus 10 more... Related Stories My excellent Conversation with Reid Hoffman *All Desire is a Desire for Being* Toward a theory of military loyalties  ( 8 min )

Here are all our storage, ripening, and cooking tips for different types of produce you might get a little too excited about at the farmers market.

We tested temperature, humidity levels, washing, and storage to determine how to keep your fresh green beans ripe for weeks.

We reviewed both burr and blade grinders to see which could grind coffee evenly and was best suited for pourovers, automatic drip brewers, and French presses.  ( 19 min )

We tested pounds of cherries and determined getting your fruit in the fridge—and quickly—will automatically keep it fresh longer. If you skip washing and lay cherries out flat (rather than pile them on top of each other in a bag or container), you’ll see even better results.  ( 17 min )

This sweet-and-sour spiced pickle is a classic of the Southern American table, and makes the most of a part of the watermelon that otherwise gets thrown out: its crisp-fresh rind.  ( 15 min )

Buttery shortcake, juicy berries, and fluffy whipped cream make this a delicious way to enjoy strawberries at their peak.

This infused water recipe combines sweet ripe blackberries, tart grapefruit, and woodsy sage for a refreshing and balanced drink.  ( 13 min )

This fruit infused water recipe relies on Floral plums, woodsy thyme, and fresh chiles for its tart and herbaceous flavor.

Everything you need to know about selecting the best peaches and bringing them to ultimate ripeness at home.

This cucumber water recipe uses a simple and reliable technique that works well with a range of refreshing flavor combinations.

With a jammy filling of vanilla-scented peaches beneath a crunchy topping of whole-wheat flour, oats, and toasted pecans, this peach crisp tastes like the best of summer.

Three solid tips for writers from “A Man Called Ove”  ( 12 min )

Two drafting methods I use to add conversational flow or strong clarity Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Plus: Steve Simon prepared for worst in 2024 elections; Fischbach brings D.C. lawmakers to Minnesota cattle ranch

Plus: Minnesota draws families seeking gender affirming care; Mega Millions ticket waiting to be claimed; Wisconsin teacher fired after backlash over Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus song; and more.

Yes. The 28th Virginia battle flag was captured by the Minnesota First Volunteer Regiment at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.

MinnPost contacted authorities last week after discovering a racist, threatening email.

Minnesota’s 11 tribes are among those seeking compensation for the land that is now a great part of the University of Minnesota’s holdings.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce has not yet launched the program for doling out rebate money. But for now, here is what we know about the EV rebates and who can get them.

Following a ProPublica-Sahan Journal report on fast-tracked home financing deals that left Somali families in Minnesota financially devastated, federal lawmakers met to discuss what could be done to shield buyers.

Plus: Highlighting misogyny and discrimination in the music industry in new exhibit; a mixed media exhibit from Laura Youngbird; NUNNABOVE featured in upcoming fundraiser; and more.

Corporate leaders told us we had entered a so-called “knowledge economy.” Thus, the population’s grim economic prospects in our new, increasingly unequal society were the fault of educators, not corporate leaders and policy makers who built an economy for the few.

Plus: Wisconsin child dies in sawmill accident; major tax firms sent taxpayer information to Meta; Fergus Falls inspecting homes for lead pipes; and more.

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Also shares of a Ferrari and back-tightness inside information.  ( 2 min )

Librairie des Colonnes, located in Tangier, Morocco, holds a significant place in the city's literary and cultural history. Established in 1949, it has become an iconic bookstore and a hub for intellectuals, writers, and artists. One of the most important elements of the Librairie des Colonnes is its historical significance. Throughout its existence, the bookstore has served as a meeting place for renowned writers and thinkers from around the world. It has hosted literary gatherings, book launches, and discussions, fostering intellectual exchange and promoting the love of literature. The bookstore features a diverse collection. Shelves are filled with works in multiple languages, including French, English, Arabic, and Spanish. From classic literature to contemporary novels, poetry collections to philosophical treatises, Librairie des Colonnes offers a wide range of literary treasures for readers of all interests. The building itself is also a noteworthy feature of the bookstore. With its charming architecture, inviting atmosphere, and cozy reading corners, it creates a unique ambiance that attracts both locals and visitors. Librairie des Colonnes has managed to preserve its nostalgic charm while adapting to modern times, with the integration of digital platforms and online sales. Furthermore, the bookstore has played a vital role in promoting Moroccan literature and supporting local authors. It has served as a platform for emerging writers to showcase their works and engage with readers. By organizing literary events and book signings, Librairie des Colonnes has contributed to the growth and recognition of Moroccan literature on a national and international scale.  ( 12 min )

Preserving old trains that had been neglected for years is the main goal of this museum located in one of the busiest metro stations in Madrid. Most of the trains on display at the museum were rescued and fully renovated in recent years. The Madrid metro has made a significant effort to rehabilitate a selection of its vintage trains, which were in operation between 1919 and 1965. In 1919, Madrid opened its first metro line from Sol to Cuatro Caminos. It was inaugurated on October 17, 1919, by King Alfonso XIII and opened to the public later that month. Some of the trains that serviced the citizens of Madrid on that very first day can be seen in this museum. The museum is also home to around 100 subway-specific items and videos from a bygone such as old metro signs and tools.  ( 12 min )

Not everyone knows that Calais, a trade and transit hub on the north coast of France, is also a portal to an underground world—at least, that is, according to a larger-than-life local’s PR team. This gateway opened during expansion work a few years ago at the Port of Calais, and released a huge and powerful dragon that now patrols the city’s shoreline. According to the dragon’s press, the fantastic beast is “naturally benevolent, but can also be wild and unpredictable." So goes the story of The Calais Dragon, created by François Delarozière, one of the artists behind the intricate puppet-automatons known as the Machines of the Isle of Nantes. Delarozière was commissioned by Natacha Bouchart, the mayor of Calais, to create a unique addition to the cityscape, a piece of public art that wou…  ( 19 min )

With schools out and adventures to be had, summer seems to be the quintessential travel season. Whether you’re trekking through the Valley of the Assassins in Iran or conducting a world tour of mini golf courses, summer invites us to hit the road, skies, and seas in search of unknown places. And we’re sure you’re searching for a book to take with you on the journey—or inspire your next one! To help, Atlas Obscura compiled this list of some of the best travel books to take on the road. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann In the first decades of the early 20th century, British explorer Percy Fawcett made seven trips into the Amazon rainforest. During those travels, Fawcett became increasingly obsessed with the long-fabled El Dorado— and convinced…  ( 17 min )

In 1834, Athens was a small city of 7,000 residents. When Athens was declared the new capital of Greece on September 18, 1834, a large building boom soon followed. A plot of land in the Makrigianni area, near the Acropolis, was selected for a military hospital. Bavarian military engineer Wilhelm von Weiler designed the building and did so in a German Neo-Romantic style. Construction began in late 1834 and was completed in 1836. The finished military hospital was three stories tall with a large basement and an exterior of coated stone masonry. An assassination attempt on the prime minister, the death of King Alexander from a monkey bite, and territorial disputes all led to an increase in the resources needed by the Royal Gendarmerie so the building was converted to regimental barracks in 1920. In 1944, the building fell victim to the Dekemvriana (December events), a 37-day period of fighting in the streets of Athens between British forces supporting the Greek government and communist rebels (who had fought alongside British troops against the Germans just months earlier). The building was badly damaged, with a large portion of the coating destroyed, exposing the stonework. Following the Dekemvriana, most of the remaining coating was removed and the majority of the building exterior was left as exposed stonework. In 1978, the building was turned over to the Ministry of Culture. Use by the ministry was limited until a full renovation was completed between 1985 and 1987. After renovations were complete, the building was inaugurated by the late Minister for Culture, Melina Mercouri, as the Museum of the Center for Acropolis Studies. The center now contains as original terracotta architectural remains from the Acropolis, a series of plaster casts depicting successive uses of the Acropolis from prehistoric Neolithic times to the 18th century, and numerous other important artifacts.  ( 13 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, Jonathan Carey and Michelle Cassidy of the Atlas Obscura Places Team bring us two charming stories of very special doggos who have been (literally) preserved for the ages. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 14 min )

Having a romantic partner is useful in many ways. You won’t be as lonely, you can ask them for advice, you can do activities together, and you can share transport and even a household with them. But if you look carefully, you will notice that many people don’t choose such partners mainly for their promise in such roles. They instead seek high status partners, who make them look good by association. Partners who are hot, funny, rich, powerful, etc.

In this tutorial, we will show you how to apply the Benjamini-Hochberg procedure in order to calculate the False Discovery ... Read moreThe Benjamini-Hochberg procedure (FDR) and P-Value Adjusted Explained Continue reading: The Benjamini-Hochberg procedure (FDR) and P-Value Adjusted Explained  ( 12 min )

A Brief Overview of the RConsortium Submissions Working Group The RConsortium Submissions working group is dedicated to promoting the use of R in the life science industry, particularly in FDA submissions. RConsortium’s mission is centered around creating example R-based submissions for various scenarios, demonstrating the potential of R and ... Continue reading: Advancing FDA Clinical Trial Submissions with R: Reproducing the R Submissions Pilot 2 Shiny App Using Rhino  ( 17 min )

The datasetR helps you generate a random datasets for your R project. It provides a preset random list of values with different data types (interval, ordinal, nominal values). It includes also a function for imputing a NULL, NA or missing values. Installing…Read more › Continue reading: datasetR – R package for creating datasets  ( 10 min )

A step-by-step explanation of how to fit a linear model. Here we cover OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) and work with readily available R datasets to explore the relationship between vehicles’ weight and fuel efficiency. Continue reading: Linear Models in R – Part 1  ( 7 min )

A step-by-step explanation of how to fit a linear model. Here we cover GLM (Generalized Linear Models) but focus on the Poisson link and work with datasets that we have to download and join to produce a final dataset to explore the effects of dist... Continue reading: Linear Models in R – Part 2  ( 7 min )

A step-by-step explanation of how to fit a linear model. Here we cover GLMs (Generalized Linear Models) but focus on the Poisson link with a large number of fixed effects and work with datasets that we have to download and join to produce a final ... Continue reading: Linear Models in R – Part 3  ( 7 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Simplifying File Existence Checking in R with file.exists()  ( 10 min )

Start Tidymodels Machine Learning: Diabetes #Preliminaries: rm(list=ls()) library(tidyverse) Continue reading: Tidymodels Machine Learning: Diabetes Classification  ( 18 min )

In every data project, there should be a check that the data actually looks like what you expect it to look like. Continue reading: Introducing dataverifyr: A Lightweight, Flexible, and Fast Data Validation Package that Can Handle All Sizes of Data  ( 23 min )

This is the first of a (hopefully) series of posts about Nix. Disclaimer: I’m a Continue reading: Reproducible data science with Nix  ( 40 min )

Alicia Arneson writes: I am a PhD student at Virginia Tech studying quantitative ecology. This semester, I am taking Deborah Mayo’s Philosophy of Statistics course, so I can’t help but to think more critically about statistical methods in some of … Continue reading →  ( 12 min )

Abel Sanchez helps industries and executives shift their operations in order to make sense of their data and use it to help their bottom lines.  ( 8 min )

In China, the use of AI-driven facial recognition helps the regime repress dissent while enhancing the technology, researchers report.  ( 9 min )

0xProto: Free and Open-source font for programming. [mikael]  ( 1 min )

[Time to try to re-start this forum.] I spent this morning on three different small activities. One was giving feedback to Matt Daunt (NYU) who is trying to re-build the concept for stellar radial-velocity measurement in . He has annoying optimization issues, which are very hard to diagnose! Optimization is always nasty, in my experience.wobblejax Another activity was working on the abstract for Lily Zhao's (Flatiron) upcoming paper on stellar variability in the spectral domain, generated by rotating, spotty stars. She is concerned that the paper is too conceptual. I love conceptual papers! I think science moves forward through concepts and implentations, and no individual paper has to do it all. My third activity this morning was working through the mathematics on a project of Abby Williams (NYU, Caltech) to measure the kinematic dipole in the all-sky quasar catalog. There are so many different ways to measure it. I think I have a justifiable likelihood function approach, and one in which we could marginalize out—or profile out—the uncertainties in the selection function we have estimated. It's a controversial subject, so I would like to do things correctly.Quaia  ( 14 min )

Dear professor Vakil, Is it possible to add the word `Gorenstein' somewhere in your book, in case this can be done easily? Thanks for your wonderful work! I appreciated you book very much, and hope to see it in print soon!  ( 12 min )

Research on genomics of an outcome like educational attainment can inspire dread. But denying that it has any scientific merit or potential for social benefit is unhelpful. For scholars and laypeople alike, the challenge is to learn how to give genes their due, but not more.  ( 14 min )

Rainbow colormaps are among the most derided ideas in data visualization, second only to pie charts. And yet, people use them. Why? A recent paper looks at some of the reasons why they are so popular and points to research showing that they might not be so bad if used for the right tasks. There’s […]  ( 7 min )

They were already talking about this when I was in Kazakhstan twenty years ago. The ABC of alphabet reform in Kazakhstan Moving from Cyrillic-based to modified Latin script will distance the central Asian state symbolically from Russia By Tony Barber, Financial Times (7/3/23) —— It took only a few hours after my arrival in Astana, […]  ( 11 min )

Just heard that Milan Kundera, Czech-French author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being and other fantastic books had passed away on Tuesday in Paris. I still remember from the mid 1980’s the deep impression this book left on me, both as a bitter-sweet love story with the Prague Spring and its aftermath as its background, […]  ( 6 min )

Just heard that Milan Kundera, Czech-French author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being and other fantastic books had passed away on Tuesday in Paris. I still remember from the mid 1980’s the deep impression this book left on me, both as a bitter-sweet love story with the Prague Spring and its aftermath as its background, […]  ( 6 min )

Every writer’s journey begins with a first step (followed by thousands more). Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Intangible qualities for a long-term writing life Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 9 min )

Writing and publishing are two different art forms. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 9 min )

The northeast corner of South Africa is a patchwork of landscapes, from open, hoodoo-studded plains in the interior and wetlands along the coast to surprising, dense coniferous forests—a relic of the colonial period, when alien species were brought from Europe to create massive pine plantations. Beneath this diversity lies one of the world’s largest gold deposits, and, beneath that, more than three miles underground, there’s a geological treasure from deep time: layers of rock that provide evidence of Earth’s earliest deep freeze. According to a paper published recently in Geochemical Perspectives Letters, these rocks hold multiple clues to the world's oldest glaciers, sheets of ice that covered the area an astonishing 2.9 billion years ago. Now the big question is: What on Earth was the…  ( 16 min )

On the night of February 24, 1857, under gaslit torches in New Orleans's warehouse district, a Mardi Gras tradition was born. At the intersection of Julia and Magazine Streets, the Mistick Krewe of Comus kicked off Fat Tuesday with a parade that marched through the main thoroughfares of the city to the Gaiety Theatre, on Gravier Street between Carondelet and Baronne Streets. The organized procession coalesced around a single theme, “The Demon Actors in Milton’s Paradise Lost," and featured classic characters from Paradise Lost, such as Pluto and Prosperine, the Fates, fairies, harpies, gorgons, Satan, Isis, Osiris, and many others. Once the parade reached the Gaiety Theatre, members presented four tableaus taken from Paradise Lost: Tartarus, the Expulsion, the conference of Satan and Bee…  ( 13 min )

This small museum located in an old bank building (with drive-through teller machines still present) covers a unique but little-known period in American and labor history known as the Mine Wars.  These "wars" started in central West Virginia in the 1910s and culminated with the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain, in which approximately 20,000 fought, in southern West Virginia. A collection of immigrants, Black Americans from the South, and other residents of the various hallows located around the state joined forces to stand up against the mine guard system.  The town of Matewan, politically independent of coal companies, served as a focal point for union organizers during this period and witnessed the "Battle of Matewan," in which Sheriff Sid Hatfield got into a wild-west shootout with mining security.  ( 12 min )

Since their introduction in the mid-19th century, music boxes have been a very popular novelty in Japan, where they are called orugōru from Dutch Orgel "organ." They are commonly found among the usual souvenirs at tourist gift shops, coming in many shapes and sizes. Established in 1967 and headquartered in the northern city of Otaru, the Orgel-Doh company is known as one of the largest music box manufacturers in Japan. Its main outlet, dubbed the Otaru Orgel Museum, boasts thousands of items for sale as well as small exhibits of European antiques, automata, and dioramas depicting the history of music boxes. The "museum" is housed in a huge, three-story brick building built in 1912 as a rice merchant's storehouse, a historic monument worth seeing on its own. Inside, spacious halls with quaint wooden beams and dazzling chandeliers gleam with a multitude of music boxes, many of them lushly decorated. Some are of more traditional kinds, from snow globes to piano-shaped antimony chests in Rococo style, while others are uniquely designed in the forms of princesses, teddy bears, Chinese Zodiac animals, Ferris wheels, and even sushi. Up on the second floor runs an elegant, lamp-lit corridor with historical exhibits and antique, luxury music boxes such as the Orpheus and the Reuge, as well as a section where local handicrafts are showcased. The third floor is home to a nostalgic attic called The Sound of Dreams, focusing on character-themed music boxes and stationery items, particularly those of Studio Ghibli and Monchchichi. When visiting, don't forget to take a picture with the icon standing in front of the building: the world's largest steam clock. Made in 1994 by Canadian clockmaker Raymond Saunders, credited as the creator of the world's first steam clock in Gastown, the Otaru Steam Clock is 18 feet tall and plays a five-note melody every 15 minutes, exhaling steam into the air.  ( 13 min )

Kulturinsel Einsiedel might be the world's biggest playground. This place is the creation of Jürgen Bergmann, a craftsman and woodworker who started building the massive playground in the 1990s. It is an incredible area of artistic woodwork with labyrinths, playing towers, and a wizard castle with a maze underneath. Bergmann runs a company that creates and exports children's playgrounds worldwide. Anyone who has children or has preserved some childlike wonder in their heart should go there.  ( 12 min )

St Mary the Virgin is a Grade I listed church built in 1902. It was replaced by a nearby church on Church Lane, which fell into disrepair when the village relocated to higher ground. The lynch gate is Grade II listed. The church happens to be only one of three Art Nouveau churches in England and is the best preserved of the trio. Its interior is decorated with Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts styles using mother-of-pearl, walnut, marble, aluminum, and other materials. The designer was Sir William Reynolds-Stevens. Nearby is Warley Place, which was once the home of Victorian gardener Ellen Willmott. The house no longer exists, but the estate (which includes the former garden) is now a nature reserve run by the Essex Wildlife Trust. Warley Place is free to visit.  ( 12 min )

Gorgeous little park with an added attraction. The town of Grand Coulee moved the windmill park here from Emil Gehrke's yard after he passed away in 1979. It's a whimsical and fun site, especially on windy days! The garden is filled with hundreds of wind-powered sculptures created by Gehrke and his wife Veva. They began putting them outside their home in the 1960s. Each is made from scrap materials, mostly metal, which was sourced from junkyards and scrap piles. Over the years, the Gerhkes created nearly 800 of these wind sculptures. Though many of them now sit in private collections, more than 100 are on display at the Gehrke Windmill Garden.  ( 12 min )

Standing on a granite hillside off California's scenic 17-mile drive in Pebble Beach, the Lone Cypress is a western icon. It has been called one of the most photographed trees in North America. The Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa) looks out over Carmel Bay. Though its age is unknown, it is believed to have stood at this spot for at least 250 years. Centuries of wind and salt spray have taken a toll on the tree, but with the help of a retaining wall and cable supports, it remains standing. It even survived an arson attempt in the 1980s.  ( 12 min )

Federico Rubio y Galí was a prominent physician who not only went down in history for his medical discoveries but also his intense involvement in politics and literature. He founded the first Professional School of Nursing in Spain in 1896 and was elected a member of the prestigious Royal College of Surgery in London and the Royal Spanish Academy of Medicine. His monument, located in Parque del Oeste, is made of white limestone and bronze. It is the work of the Catalan sculptor Miguel Blay Fábregas. The inauguration was carried out by King Alfonso XIII, four years after the death of the doctor in December 1906. During the Spanish Civil War, the monument was the target of intense crossfire. The fight between Parque del Oeste and the entire campus of Ciudad Universitaria was long and cruel. The monument to Federico Rubio y Galí ended up decapitated by a cannon projectile and pierced by hundreds of bullets. After the war, the monument was somehow "pardoned," despite the doctor's Republican background, and later rebuilt and left as it is seen today, keeping the bullet holes and the shrapnel scars it had received.  ( 13 min )

Up to 18 people can sit inside this permanent octagonal art installation, or “Skyspace,” by American artist James Turrell. The piece is one of a series of distinct works, each of which is designed to interact with the landscape around. This particular monolith overlooks the Hardanger Fjord. The interior morphs across the color spectrum every sunrise and sunset, creating a dazzling, immersive space. Since the artwork reacts to the surrounding light and weather patterns, no two days are quite the same. Viewers can peer up through the elliptical oculus at the top and observe how the shifting colors within impact the perceived colors of the sky outside.  ( 12 min )

In the Bauta municipality, there is a unique historical relic in the capital: the Taoro estate. There are the ruins of the mill built in 1878 and that was owned by Don Pablo Pérez Zamora. It was the last sugar mill destroyed by the fires caused by mambises during the War of Independence of 1895. The remains of the old house, to which the slave barracks were next to, with its stone walls, are still standing.  ( 12 min )

This locomotive was designed in Philadelphia in 1920 and shipped to Florida, where it hauled freight along the coast for over 30 years. In 1951, the engine was purchased by the Georgia-based Gainesville-Midland line and given the number 301. The 301 served this role for eight years, before Gainesville-Midland was purchased by Seaboard Locomotive and the engine was donated to the city of Charlotte for display.  Once gifted to Charlotte, the 301 was installed at Freedom Park, a beautiful 98-acre park in the heart of the Queen City. Since 1959, this display has served as a monument to the importance that engines of this type once played on rail lines across the country. It also serves as a unique piece of playground equipment, as kids and adults can access the engineer’s cabin for a glimpse into the past.  The engine can be freely visited at the Freedom Park playground at no cost. Nearby parking is also at no cost.  ( 12 min )

Paxmal is a temple to peace built by the Swiss artist Karl Bickel. He started in 1924 and spent the next 25 years at a remote site in the mountains building this elaborate monument. The monument sits on a beautiful site in the mountains overlooking the Churfirsten mountain range in Switzerland. Bickel built it in a style inspired by Greek temples, with tall marble columns and mosaic murals. The murals on one wall depict a family—man, woman, and the creation of a new life. On the opposite wall, the murals depict the struggles of life and the path to a spiritual awakening.  ( 12 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, hear the story of an ancient Babylonian clay tablet that has launched a slew of modern memes. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 14 min )

From the air, Tarfaya first appears little more than a discoloration—a grey smear of concrete in a vast expanse of yellow sand. As pilot Maxime Raynaud banks over the desolate coastline of Morocco’s far south, he can just make out a fishing port, a faded white fortress, and a ruined castle marooned in the sea. The landing can be tricky, and Raynaud approaches fast to steady his Tecnam P2010 aircraft in the strong crosswinds, avoiding two radio antennae before touching down on a dirt airstrip peppered with small stones. At 2000 feet, the airstrip leaves little margin for error. “We don’t carry much fuel, and we can’t refuel here,” says Raynaud. “If we made a second approach, we might have to divert.” For the fifteen crews of the Toulouse-Tarfaya air rally, of which Raynaud heads one…  ( 23 min )

This stone replica monument sits atop St Johns Bluff, overlooking the St Johns River in Jacksonville. It was placed to commemorate the landing of Jean Ribault near the mouth of the St. Johns River in 1562, before being moved to its current location on the bluff. The monument is made of stone, approximately the same size as the original monument.  ( 12 min )

You want meat? We've got 15 steak recipes that'll make your mouth water.  ( 13 min )

This naturally nonstick skillet is sturdy, heats up evenly, and will last you a lifetime.  ( 15 min )

One of our favorite French press coffee makers and cold brewers is majorly discounted for Prime Day.  ( 11 min )

With layers of buttery phyllo dough and nuts drenched in simple syrup or honey, homemade baklava—or bak-la-wa in Arabic—is the ultimate sweet treat.  ( 16 min )

Plus: CNBC names Minnesota one of the “Top States for Business;” downtown Minneapolis companies are moving to the North Loop; south Minneapolis sinkhole not repaired after three months; Slip Dunlap’s family holds a “moving sale;” and more.  ( 7 min )

While many of Karen Blanchard's patients have had success in changing their eating habits, she’s also had to attend some funerals.  ( 16 min )

The report describes a three-pillar plan: preventative services like violence prevention groups, responsive services that provide real-time assistance to people seeking emergency services and restorative services that heal trauma and find root causes of community safety challenges.  ( 18 min )

The decision by the U.S. to provide Ukraine with cluster bombs could weaken the argument against others’ doing likewise. And that, in turn, could increase the chances of cluster bombs’ being deployed illegally.  ( 20 min )

Companies would have to disclose any PFAS that have been manufactured or imported between 2011 and when the rule takes effect, with no exemptions for small businesses or for impurities or byproducts cross-contaminating goods with PFAS.  ( 19 min )

Plus: Man sentenced in killing of 9-year-old Trinity Ottoson-Smith. why the northern lights forecasts are not super reliable; more heat may be on the way; Lowry Hill Bridge by the numbers; and more.  ( 7 min )

A critical element in civil wars is military fragmentation. Yet, we have a limited understanding of why military elites fight in civil wars and on what side. In this article I develop a theory of the economic and professional motivations of military elites. I test this theory using the case of West Point graduates in […] The post Toward a theory of military loyalties appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Not if history is any guide. > Any halfway ... by PHinton In reply to Time for one of your catchphrases. We had a US ... by PHinton In reply to Cancelled for wongthink. Like the Democrats/BLM? by OldCurmudgeon In reply to j mct. Au contraire. What makes anybody think ... by Dismalist In reply to mkt42. I think it means officers who left the ... by Jonathan Plus 10 more... Related Stories Los Alamos From Below *Germany in the World* Income inequality in the Aztec empire  ( 6 min )

Do I dare say it? Transitory inflation for the win? https://t.co/E4g9OaO8Gw — David Beckworth (@DavidBeckworth) July 12, 2023 Monetarism and break even rates, however imperfect they may be in some regards, should rise in status as well. The post U.S.A. fact of the day appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Wasn’t 4% inflation so intolerable that Nixon imposed wage ... by D F Linton In reply to joan. When fred graph clearly shows that the ... by joan I'm not sure if the post was legit. Is the argument that unless ... by Sarcasm? In reply to Cancelled for wongthink. The housing market went ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to PHinton. All political appointees lie to benefit ... by Cancelled for wongthink Plus 10 more... Related Stories Can the School Choice Movement Liberate Childhood? Michael Howard on Kenya Thinking about congestion pricing in terms of the quantity dual  ( 6 min )

1. More Okie-Dokie.  And some RFK Okie-Dokie. 2. Paul Robinson podcast on Russian liberalism.  And Classical Liberalism by Country, Volume III, is now out. 3. Nabeel’s notes on puzzles. 4. Do “multiple selves” adapt more quickly? 5. Markets in everything: People are paying to break printers with sledgehammers in smash rooms. 6. Claude 2 is now […] The post Wednesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments 1.2 – RFK? I don't get it. The guy is a phookin kook!!! by EdR In reply to rsm. Nah! Sqrt is not injective. by EdR In reply to Dennis Duffy. He's untouchable like our senile ... by EdR In reply to RAD. Anthropic knows what's most important: Who ... by Steve Sailer In reply to dearieme. “… he was lying. Next time I heard ... by EdR Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

Richard Hanania has a very good post on the rapidly expanding school choice movement and his hopes for a radical rethinking of education. The first thing to point out about public education is that it involves an extreme restriction of liberty beyond anything we usually accept. How common is it for government to force you […] The post Can the School Choice Movement Liberate Childhood? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Yeah, once kids leave house, you can jump right ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Robert Gressis. *has* by Robert Gressis In reply to I can tell this guy doesn't have kids. He had two ... by Robert Gressis In reply to Tom DeMeo. Public school education for sure by Franzish In reply to M. My fundamentalist maga anti-evolution ... by t$ Plus 10 more... Related Stories U.S.A. fact of the day Michael Howard on Kenya Markets in everything those new (Japanese) service sector jobs  ( 8 min )

Ask a YIMBY person: “What about the extra traffic from all those new people moving in?  Won’t the ambulance arrival times be slower?  Won’t the air pollution be worse?  Won’t….?” and you will get a reassuring answer that a) yes there will be some problems but they can be managed by other means, and b) […] The post Thinking about congestion pricing in terms of the quantity dual appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Picador. Agreed, congestion taxes are unpopular ... by Ben In reply to yyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. And those suburbanites complain ... by mkt42 In reply to dearieme. Lots of downvotes from people who have ... by Larry Siegel In reply to Rosie. “Hmm… Suggest a moped… or cleansing ... by M Are you for real?? New residents, (in most cities[depending ... by yyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Plus 10 more... Related Stories U.S.A. fact of the day Can the School Choice Movement Liberate Childhood? Michael Howard on Kenya  ( 9 min )

MIT researchers develop "FrameDiff," a computational tool that uses generative AI to craft new protein structures, with the aim of accelerating drug development and improving gene therapy.  ( 9 min )

Favorite Wikipedia pages and the rabbit holes they lead to

Also oil-well collectors, Nasdaq 100 rebalancing, plumbers, meetings and a glass house for Elon Musk.  ( 2 min )

Artificial intelligence taps historical weather data in forecasting, but the changing climate is complicating such efforts

Russia and other nations are working on “sovereign Internet” systems that threaten digital rights—and the stability of the global Internet

Some fear that artificial intelligence will threaten humanity’s survival. But the existential risk is more philosophical than apocalyptic

Was a teenager named Alessandra Giliani the western world’s first female anatomist? In 14th century Italy, women were strictly barred from medical research. One flouted that rule –  disguised as a man.

My mother taught me to love words. Her dementia taught me to listen more closely

New insight comes from zapping a region, known as the anterior precuneus, that causes people to feel dissociated from their body

Ozempic and similar medications may target brain circuitry involved in addiction as well as appetite control

Ozempic and similar medications may target brain circuitry involved in addiction as well as appetite control

This week and next there’s an interesting summer school going on at the IAS, with topic Understanding Confinement. Videos of talks are available here or at the IAS video site. Taking a look at some of the first talks brings … Continue reading →  ( 7 min )

With the presidential election season coming up (not that it’s ever ended), here’s a quick summary of the problems/challenges with two poll-based forecasting methods from 2020. How this post came about: I have a post scheduled about a dispute between … Continue reading →  ( 13 min )

The German anesthesiologist Joachim Boldt has lost 20 more papers since January 2023, earning him the top spot in our leaderboard, with 184 retractions.  Boldt, readers may recall, was once one of the leading international figures in perioperative medicine. His work, particularly studies involving the use of fluid management during surgery, helped inform clinical guidelines … Continue reading The new retraction record holder is a German anesthesiologist, with 184  ( 8 min )

Three years after U.S. schools shifted to remote instruction on an emergency basis, the education sector is still largely unprepared for another long-term interruption of in-person school, and the stakes are highest for those who need it most. Will schools heed the lessons of the pandemic?  ( 21 min )

Dunhuang (see here and here) is turning out to be a Chinglish goldmine.  Maybe that's because it's so far out in the remote, desolate, desert northwest. The Chinese label says: hóngdòu xiǎo ruǎnbāo 紅豆小軟包 "red bean small soft bun" The printing is nice. Selected readings "Somking" (7/7/23) "More savory Chinglish from Dunhuang" (7/9/23) "Baozi: The stuffed, steamed bun […]  ( 8 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Exploring Data with colMeans() in R: A Programmer’s Guide  ( 10 min )

Recall that a Hopf torus is a two-dimensional object in the 4D space Continue reading: Another Hopf torus  ( 12 min )

Introduction “Historians offer us systems of the past that are too complete, series of causes and effects that are too exact and too clear to have ever been entirely true.” Marguerite Yourcenar - Mémoires d`Hadrien (1974) Greetings, humanists,... Continue reading: Uncovering History with R – A Look at the HistData Package  ( 21 min )

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This museum dedicated to chairs belongs to a local design company. It's relatively obscure to both locals and tourists. It contains chairs of many styles from 1800 French chairs to mid-20th-century North American chairs There are even chars from the Guaraní indigenous culture.  ( 12 min )

Radiation is generally seen as a dangerous thing and exposure to it should be minimized. But this hasn't always been the case. In the past radium was seen as a healthy thing and was used in many products. Some of these products remain to this day, like the Japanese radium onsen, where bathing in radium water is believed to be healthy. Radium onsen is one of the oldest bathhouses in Osaka, dating back to 1952. Apart from a traditional hot bath, they also have a carbonated bath, a cold bath, an electric bath where bathers are shocked with a low amp current.  The infamous radium bath is located outside. The radium ore in the bath is sourced from a now-closed mine in Ningyotoge. Fortunately, the dose is not strong. (Depending on how long you stay in the water, you might get more radiation exposure from flying.) The water is said to cure all kinds of aches and diseases and is popular with older people for this reason. The onsen even suggests drinking it for added medicinal value, which is much more dangerous in terms of radiation exposure. Nevertheless, no death has been attributed to the onsen.  ( 12 min )

In 1688, the Glorious Revolution saw William III and his wife Mary ascend to the English throne, marking the end of Catholic rule under James II. In tribute to William's reign, an impressive equestrian statue was erected in St James's Square, London. This magnificent sculpture, crafted from bronze, portrays William III as a powerful Roman general, evoking a sense of strength and authority. Despite being dressed in Classical garb, however, William's hairstyle remains true to the late 17th century. Notably, another aspect of the statue that is true to life can be seen at its base. By the feet of William's horse is the distinctive mound of a molehill. This small inclusion is a reference to the incident in which William's horse stumbled over a molehill at Hampton Court Palace, causing William to fall and sustain injuries that ultimately led to the king's death. This humble lump, the cause of the king's undignified demise, is said to have led his opposition, most notably the Jacobite supporters of James II, to raise a toast to the mole or as they eloquently phrased it, "to the little gentleman in a velvet jacket."  ( 13 min )

The temple, which is also known as Chennakeshava Temple, was completed in 1268. It took more than 50 years to construct and is dedicated to Vishnu. It is comprised of more than 5,000 pieces of sculpture including renditions from the Kama Suta, incarnations of the gods, animals, and symbols. The ornate temple is an example of Hoysala architecture. The main temple stands at the center of a courtyard on a high star-shaped platform with three symmetrical sanctums, or garbha-griha.  ( 12 min )

Atlas Obscura’s Wondersky columnist Rebecca Boyle is an award-winning science journalist and author of the upcoming Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are (January 2024, Random House). Throughout the summer, she’ll be sharing the stories and secrets of our wondrous night sky. Stargazing is largely about celebrating stars other than the Sun. But there is one exception to this rule: when a rippling curtain of spectral green and sometimes red, pink, and purple descends across the upper latitudes of our planet. These space weather light shows, known as auroras, are the result of a specific sequence of events that starts with the Sun and ends in our atmosphere—and it might be happening this week. Some space weather foreca…  ( 18 min )

In the middle of a residential neighborhood in Pune stands an ancient temple with a huge tree growing all around the structure. The tree has beautifully encapsulated the entire structure and is now a part of the temple. This temple is called Zakoba Temple, with the name “Zakoba” referring to the temple’s deity. An equestrian idol of the deity is enshrined within the “Gabhara” (the sacred inner chamber of the temple). The entrance of the temple has two stone pillars. On either side of the entrance, there are two “Virgals” (Victory Stones/Hero Stones) depicting warriors. Within and around the temple there are idols and photos of other deities also. The temple is painted in shades of yellow and red. The peepal tree (Ficus religiosa) surrounding the structure is most fascinating. The tree has made its way along the temple’s ancient stonework over the centuries and it now hugs the temple affectionately. It is beautiful to admire nature’s artwork in the way the tree’s branches and roots weave themselves through the stonework, creating a stunning display of the union of natural elements. According to sources, some people believe this temple to be around 200-300 years old, considering its style of architecture and fascinating intricacies.  ( 13 min )

Since 2003, visitors to the Nashville Farmers’ Market have been lining up for platters of curry goat, jerk chicken, and braised oxtail. Dishes at Jamaicaway come in generous portions with spice levels that range from “mild” to the habanero-heavy “FIYAH.” Everything from the ackee and saltfish—the national dish of Jamaica—to the curry chicken–stuffed roti is made from scratch.  In many ways, the restaurant feels akin to Nashville’s iconic meat-and-threes—cafeteria-style dining establishments that have been central to the city’s dining scene since the 1920s—albeit one where Southern sides like mac ‘n’ cheese, collard greens, and cheesy mashed potatoes share plate-space with Caribbean favorites such as plantains, breadfruit, and bammy. The stellar dessert menu is equally culturally split, with slabs of Southern–style frosted layer cakes and Jamaican treats like coconut milk–soaked sweet potato pone. Owners Ouida and Dave Bradshaw now have something of a small restaurant empire in Nashville. Jamaicaway, a play on both the couple's home country and a parkway in Boston, where they previously lived, now has three branches around town. “[Ouida] has a very gifted hand,” Dave says. “Food has always been in her DNA.” By the age of 10, Ouida was already helping her mother in the kitchen. While working as an elementary school teacher in Boston, her homemade treats quickly developed a fanbase among her students. “She’d tell them if they did well on a test, she’d cook them a meal,” Dave says. The couple's son, Kamal Kalokah, who decided to go to culinary school after working at the family business, went on to become Rihanna's personal chef and tour with Drake. He and his brother, Rashean Conaway, currently run Riddim n Spice, a popular Caribbean restaurant in North Nashville.  Nowadays, you don’t have to ace a test in order to try Ouida’s cooking. Swing by Monday through Friday for a curried goat plate and a slice of the ultra-moist, boozy black cake as a sweet reward.  ( 14 min )

Almost 200 miles north of Sweden, in the small city of Hudiksvall, Glada Hudik-teatern, the Happy Hudik Theater, gives people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to participate in professional theater productions. Numerous plays and musicals, some of them televised, have been staged to showcase the talents and skills of the performers. Bosse Östlin, who was born with an intellectual impairment, joined the ensemble in 1996 and toured theatrical venues in Sweden and abroad for several years. He played the Tin Man in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Despite his character not having a heart, Östlin was well-known for his huge heart. The actor loved hugs and would ask anyone, anytime, and anywhere for an embrace. In fact, in 2013, he even starred in a Swedish drama-comedy movie How Many Hugs Are There In The World?. In 2015, Östlin died at the age of 63 of a brain hemorrhage. The following year, at the initiative of Glada Hudik-teatern, a life-sized bronze statue honoring the late performer was erected in Hudiksvall, his hometown. Sculptor Hanna Beling created the bronze, which was financed through auctions and crowdfunding. The statue is one of the first in Sweden to depict a person with an intellectual disability. To honor Östlin's love of hugs, the bronze is filled with heating coils and maintains a normal human body temperature all year round, encouraging passersby to stop and give the statue an embrace. Östlin often said, "If I get a hug, I'll be in a happy mood!" And today the warm likeness is a poignant memorial to the beloved actor's catchphrase.  ( 13 min )

From Under the Eye of Power by Colin Dickey, published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2023 by Colin Dickey. Even today, no one is even sure precisely where the name originated. Some have traced it to an account from 1839, when a young Black man was caught “lurking” around the Capitol in Washington, D.C.—when asked how he got there, he said that he had been sent north by a “railroad which went underground all the way to Boston.” Through a loose network of formerly enslaved and free Black Americans, along with their white allies, thousands of enslaved Americans made their way north in the decades before the Civil War, moving sometimes surreptitiously, sometimes out in the open, on railways and ships, in wagons and…  ( 31 min )

At first glance, St. Martin's Theatre doesn't seem that special. From the outside, it's just another building in the West End of London with colorful neon lights starkly contrasting on an all-white Victorian facade. Walk 100 feet in any direction and you're sure to find more neon-lit, Victorian theaters. But what makes St. Martin's special isn't the building itself, but the production that takes place each night, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. For nearly 50 years, St. Martin's has continuously run the same play every day of the week besides Sundays. The theater has been so closely linked to the play that most of the decor in its foyer is centered around the show. There are plaques and awards hung on the walls for the show's record-breaking run. A giant wooden counter in the theater's entrance lets theater-goers know what performance number they are attending. Despite the fact that seeing show 29,160 will be the exact same as show 29,159, there is a sense of pride knowing that you played a small part in extending the streak. The play itself is fantastic; there is a reason why it's still running to this day after debuting over 70 years ago in 1952 (and moving to St. Martin's in 1974). The "Queen of Crime," Agatha Christie, switches up her usual medium of novels to tell a captivating murder mystery tale for the stage all while retaining the same themes and motifs that make her books extraordinary. And since it is a murder mystery play with a few dramatic reveals, that is all I can give away! Do yourself a favor and book tickets to solve the murder and see the world's longest-running theater show!  ( 13 min )

North of Devils Tower and west of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, travelers will find this most curious place of worship, which stands as a testament to the geological history of the surrounding region. Built in 1895, this unusual facade of this church is covered in scoria, a type of hardened lava found around the badlands. Resourceful members of the congregation went 'rock picking' and scoured the surrounding area for chunks of volcanic stone. This true community effort has a place of honor on the National Register of Historic Places.  ( 12 min )

St. Peter's Rock Grotto is a beautiful, idyllic spot located in the tiny village of Farmer, South Dakota (Population: 15). It was constructed between 1926 and 1933. The grotto was built by Fr. Peter N. Scheier using natural materials, often ones he purchased on trips to the Black Hills.   The Grotto was once surrounded by a Roman Catholic elementary school, but that institution closed in 1959. The Grotto underwent a formal restoration in 2001, and at that time it was inducted into the National Register of Historic Places.  ( 12 min )

The old exchange building Bukit Nanas is located at the intersection of Jalan Gereja and Jalan Raja Chulan. The building was built in 1928 as the Central Battery Telephone Exchange by the British during their colonization of Malaysia. The site was ideally suited as it provided important links to Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding environment. It was subsequently upgraded from manual to mechanical in 1938. During World War II, the building was targeted by the Japanese before their occupation of Malaysia. Afterward, the British return was short-lived and the building was taken over by Telekom Malaysia following independence. With the inception of International Direct Dialing from Malaysia, the requirement for switchboard-operated communications ended including the use of the building. However, in 1985, the prime minister at the time saved the building from demolition. The Telecommunication Museum was the first of its kind in Malaysia to have interactive exhibits. The museum is a repository of old telephones and outdated machinery once used for telecommunication. It houses several audio-visual exhibits, educative rooms for school kids archives, and resource areas with some artifacts over 120 years old and going back to the prewar era. Apart from an array of very stylish phones, there is even a telephone book that includes popular advertisements from the 1960s.  ( 13 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit the Lumberjack World Championships, a competition that has lumberjacks and lumberjills from around the world flock to Hayward, Wisconsin, every year. Join us as we get our hands dirty alongside the world’s most skilled in all-things chopping … and rolling. This episode is produced in partnership with GoUSA TV. If you want to see more of the series Small Town, Big Story, watch now on GoUSA TV or YouTube. You can learn more about visiting Hayward here. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 15 min )

Reading in Le Monde the news that Siouxie had sung at the Eurockéennes de Belfort reminded of her first albums that I played endlessly. With The Banshees and a certain Robert Smith as an occasional guitarist… Highly innovative punk rock announcing the New Wave and mesmerising voice.  ( 6 min )

New arXiv working paper introducing conditional method agreement trees (COAT) which can capture the dependency of a Bland-Altman analysis on covariates. It is ccompanied by an R implementation in the CRAN package coat. Citation Continue reading: Tree models for assessing covariate-dependent method agreement  ( 12 min )

Presence probability, typically obtained with presence-(pseudo)absence modelling methods like GLM, GAM, GBM or Random Forest, is conditional not only on the suitability of the environmental conditions, but also on the general prevalence (proportion of presences) of the species in the … Continue reading → Continue reading: Weighted probability vs. favourability  ( 11 min )

R and Shiny Training: If you find this blog to be interesting, please note that I offer personalized and group-based training sessions that may be reserved through Buy me a Coffee. Additionally, I provide training services in the Spanish language ... Continue reading: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to GGplot2 and Plotnine Updated and With Discount  ( 8 min )

Global Temperature #TidyTuesday Continue reading: TidyTuesday Week 28: Global Surface Temperature  ( 51 min )

Introduction Continue reading: A Closer Look at the R Function identical()  ( 9 min )

With the help of the internet and ChatGPT, I was able to create this interactive election map showing the top five candidates with the most votes in each ward. It took longer than expected, but it was fun to learn new things, such as working with JSON in R and ... Continue reading: Create interactive 2023 Toronto mayoral election map in R with leaflet  ( 32 min )

How I’ve kept my content fresh for 20+ years Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 15 min )

Overcome the limitations of artificial intelligence by iterating your way to a better book description  ( 23 min )

This Week In Writing, we talk about Google’s new AI plan, what it means for writers, and why resistance is futile. Oh, and Threads. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 18 min )

Yet another heat dome will send temperatures skyrocketing across the U.S. Southwest just after the planet saw its hottest week on record

Tens of thousands of people died during intense heat waves in Europe last summer, indicating that heat prevention plans aren’t protecting vulnerable populations

A federal rule would require companies to disclose whether their products contain chemicals known as PFASs

As the threat of antibiotic resistance increases, new antibiotics are imperative—and AI could widen the pipeline

Satellites and other technologies are spurring a new revolution in volcanic activity monitoring

Satellites and other technologies are spurring a new revolution in volcanic activity monitoring

Astronomers found two colliding galaxies dating back to less than 500 million years after the big bang

Hotspots beneath cities deform the ground, causing important infrastructure to crack under stress

Plus: New foods announced for Minnesota State Fair; Wisconsin billionaires funded lobbying against social programs; Metro Transit ridership up; and more.  ( 7 min )

No. Seven of NATO’s 30 member countries spent at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense in 2022, according to the NATO secretary general’s 2022 annual report.  ( 9 min )

No. While most municipalities in France use paper ballots, not all do.  ( 5 min )

Yes. Minnesota Compass reports a total of 86,610 Somali Americans reside in the state, the largest population in the country. An estimated 37,048 residents of Minnesota were born in Somalia, according to 2021 U.S. Census American Community Survey data.  ( 7 min )

Cars? No. Sidewalks? Mostly, for now. Apartment units? Possibly, at least initially. “Struggling to read this law could drive someone to smoke some pot,” said one observer of the new marijuana law, which makes Minnesota one of only four states to allow public smoking.  ( 34 min )

In surveys conducted in previous years, rural stakeholders said access to family doctors and other basic care was the highest priority. Looking into the future, a new survey says the highest priorities will be mental health and addiction.  ( 13 min )

The ability of small suburban municipalities to limit multifamily housing is more the rule than the exception  ( 20 min )

"Collective Investigation" is designed as a way to cull a library’s collection through an intuitive process of selection, then with a small group of other participants, working to highlight selections from the archive within a new collaboratively arranged document.  ( 18 min )

Plus: Court rules in favor of Minnesota Amish community; man found dead in freezer was hiding from police; calls to mental health crisis hotline surged in last year; and more.  ( 7 min )

I am prone / prey to earworms.  Sometimes when I'm seriously affected / infected by one, it takes me weeks to get rid of the scourge, and I have to resort to all sorts of devices and deceptions to disinfect them from the space between my ears and the auditory cortex inside the lateral sulcus […]  ( 12 min )

"Lying flat", "Buddha whatever", "Kong Yijiism", "involution" — China today has so many memes for opting out.  Helen Gao explains the reasons for their profusion: How China’s Education System Trapped a Generation Young people have been trained into competition and hopelessness. Foreign Policy (6/22/23) —– From 2003 to 2005, I was a student at rendafuzhong […]  ( 8 min )

The paper’s title is “The Largest Insurance Expansion in History: Saving One Million Lives Per Year in China”: The New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) rolled out in China from 2003-2008 provided insurance to 800 million rural Chinese. We combine aggregate mortality data with individual survey data, and identify the impact of the NCMS from program […] The post China estimate of the day appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Harun. My impression as well. I know many Chinese ... by John Smith In reply to Phil S.. It’s like when I took a crap in a box ... by Cancelled for wongthink In reply to dearieme. Lol, Gruber tricked you!! I never ... by Cancelled for wongthink In reply to F off. In the event of my demise can't breathe ... by Equestrian In reply to EdR. We now have access to 70 years of Chinese ... by Godfree Roberts Plus 10 more... Related Stories The order of spousal names on tax returns Vaccination sentences to ponder Jeremy Howard on AI Safety and the Age of Disenlightenment  ( 6 min )

1. A skeptical view of the economics of Threads.  I am more optimistic, believing it is possible to grow total engagement. 2. More reasons why freezing your head won’t work. 3. Data on forecasting existential risks.  A Tetlock project. 4. The Pequod rates books, core book reviewing web site here. 5. “On the Importance of […] The post Tuesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to M. I always thought Musk didn't really understand ... by LivelyClock In reply to Sean. I took a brief glance. His recommendations ... by JFA Zuck just had a big product launch poorly. A big part of why is ... by bcg In reply to Hazel Meade. The extreme weakness of all of these ... by Gardner In reply to RAD. American beer is appealing like candy floss. by bazza Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

Proposals for stringent AI model licensing and surveillance will likely be ineffective or counterproductive, concentrating power in unsustainable ways, and potentially rolling back the societal gains of the Enlightenment. The balance between defending society and empowering society to defend itself is delicate. We should advocate for openness, humility and broad consultation to develop better responses […] The post Jeremy Howard on AI Safety and the Age of Disenlightenment appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments I think the current wave of AI is mostly hype. Nevertheless, ... by Abelard Lindsey In reply to dan1111. Right, they’re probably ahead of the ... by sxb In reply to MikeP. judgment, ignorance and deceit go hand in ... by Fuckboy Is it too simple to focus on ensuring that this technology is ... by R G In reply to ThatsNotAll. Dear God man, show some urgency! The ... by Leo Plus 10 more... Related Stories China estimate of the day Why the NYC congestion pricing plan is bad How is Portuguese drug decriminalization going?  ( 6 min )

With cyclical and Covid-related variations, of course, Kenya has been running a 5%+ GDP average annual growth rate for two decades. Since 1994, South Africa’s has, with an average of 2.4% per annum, not achieved half that. The contrast in performance is even more stark since 2011: in that year, South Africa’s GDP was 10.2 […] The post Michael Power on Kenya appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In Australia, you can get good quality rooftop solar installed ... by Crikey In reply to Steve. I keep forgetting to qualify the grid ... by RAD How much should we thank the british? by DRP In reply to Anon. Looks like it's now Kenya's turn to regress ... by Gioacchino Lucchesi You, Mr SMFS, are expressing a bias here. Please extrapolate. by ged Plus 10 more... Related Stories Markets in everything those new (Japanese) service sector jobs The Birth-Weight Pollution Paradox Why the NYC congestion pricing plan is bad  ( 8 min )

Also index weightings, junk fees and emoji contracts.  ( 2 min )

The year is a little more than halfway over, and of course, that means we need to count down the best of the best. As is always the case, many of the biggest festival hits and awards season slam dunks have yet to be released. That doesn’t mean there aren’t worthwhile films to see though. […]  ( 9 min )

(𝓌𝑒)𝒷𝓈𝒾𝓉𝑒 📌 ⇾ 🌲 Charles' Forest Cuboid 📌 Low Poly Generator 📌 Plaintext World  ( 1 min )

Demetria Glace writes: I wasn’t the first to make the connection, but once I noticed it, it was everywhere. You walk past a poster for a new movie and think, Why is every action hero named Jack, John, James, or, … Continue reading →  ( 12 min )

Kaiser looks at a recent WSJ chart about remote working.  ( 8 min )

The journal Scientific Reports removed a scientist linked to paper mill activity from its editorial board last year, but didn’t take his name off the web page until last month, after a Retraction Watch-Undark story pointed out his association.  The former editorial board member, Masoud Afrand, is an assistant professor of engineering at the Islamic … Continue reading Editorial board member dropped from journal site after Retraction Watch-Undark report links him to paper mill  ( 7 min )

It can heat water to ideal brew temperatures, has a programmable timer, and its insulated carafe keeps coffee hot for hours.  ( 12 min )

Prime Day is in full swing, but there are some great discounts at other retailers, like Williams Sonoma.  ( 21 min )

It’s easy to set up, heats to 900ºF with wood, coal, or gas fire, and its insulated dome keeps temperatures consistent.  ( 12 min )

Air fry, bake, roast, and toast—after testing eight air fryer toaster ovens, we found one that can truly do it all.  ( 11 min )

The Ember mug is an editor-favorite—and it’s deeply discounted for Prime Day.  ( 11 min )

During the heat wave that hit Mexico in June, some states saw temperatures exceed 113 degrees Fahrenheit, and more than 20 people died from heat stroke. The record-high temperatures have put enormous pressure on the country’s electric system, increasing the electricity demand beyond the 2022 record.  ( 12 min )

In Part 3 of this series, we figured out all the scales where we choose 7 notes from the 12 notes in the usual chromatic scale, with the property that the biggest step between notes is a whole tone. We saw these scales come in three sets of 7: I discussed all but the last […]  ( 12 min )

In Part 3 of this series, we figured out all the scales where we choose 7 notes from the 12 notes in the usual chromatic scale, with the property that the biggest step between notes is a whole tone. We saw these scales come in three sets of 7: I discussed all but the last […]  ( 12 min )

...

Team Ratings for Round 20 The basic method is described on my Department home page. Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season. Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference Panthers 12.40 12.99 -0.60 Storm 6.52 11.21 -4.70 Rabbitohs 5.89 9.35 -3.50 Cowboys […] NRL Predictions for Round 20 first appeared on Stats Chat.  ( 4 min )

No. Among Midwestern states, Minnesota has the highest income tax rate in the highest-income tax bracket — 9.85% for an individual with annual income over $183,340.  ( 7 min )

Yes. The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 29, 2023, ruling striking down affirmative action in college admissions includes a footnote that exempts military academies.  ( 7 min )

Yes. The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 29, 2023, ruling striking down affirmative action in college admissions did not address using legacy as a preference in admissions.  ( 7 min )

Yes. Before he was elected to Congress in 2022, Rep. Derrick Van Orden confronted employees at Prairie du Chien Memorial Library over an LGBTQ+ Pride Month display in the children’s section.  ( 7 min )

Plus: Monogram Foods cited for teen workers at Minnesota plant; U of M students and faculty respond to the SCOTUS affirmative action ruling; a car accident damages the Uptown Theater; MSP still has a snow pile; and more.  ( 7 min )

At Minneapolis Community and Technical College, more than 10% of students are parents, who are able to get support for everything from child care to food to help managing their workloads.  ( 13 min )

When calculating who has access to proper broadband, the federal government counts much slower internet speeds compared to Minnesota’s definition. As a result, the cash may be enough to hit federal goals for universal broadband, but not state ones.  ( 17 min )

When the organizers of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago organized a contest for the best state flag, Minnesota’s Women’s Auxiliary Board of exhibition planners got to work.  ( 11 min )

SoundMind app founders Brian Femminella and Travis Chen on how they’ve helped K-12 students combat pandemic-induced stress and anxiety by 46%.  ( 12 min )

As we build more and more stations, the human inhabitation of our solar system will be within our grasp.  ( 11 min )

Read Les chiens et la charrue (Le cycle de Syffe, tome 3 ) by Patrick K. Dewdney, which came out after a long hiatus (esp. when missing the parution in September 2021!). It thus proved hard to remember the complex structure of this universe, as well as the names of characters from the earlier volumes. […]  ( 7 min )

Read Les chiens et la charrue (Le cycle de Syffe, tome 3 ) by Patrick K. Dewdney, which came out after a long hiatus (esp. when missing the parution in September 2021!). It thus proved hard to remember the complex structure of this universe, as well as the names of characters from the earlier volumes. […]  ( 7 min )

An experiment tests whether our ears hear silent intervals in the same way they hear music or noise

About eight in 10 people in the highest-risk fire areas of the U.S. live in Western states, notably California. But other states such as Florida face threats, too

A replicability crisis threatens computational science without shared code, data and methods from studies. A new replication agreement system can mitigate this crisis.

At a stay in Biosphere 2, I went in skeptical but learned to understand why analog astronauts love what they do

New research has discovered that wildfire smoke hurts these primates’ voice—and health.

Kids don’t typically advance academically during the summer, but the research isn’t clear on whether they forget what they’ve already learned

Lawyers and nonlawyers alike prefer contracts written in plain English

THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE JULY 8, 2023, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. A few years ago, as I was noodling around Google Maps, I spotted a tiny fork-and-knife symbol situated in the middle of what the map denoted as a small airfield. Perplexed, I tapped the icon, and it displayed rave reviews for a barbecue joint that had been left by locals, pilots, and planespotters. Many of the reviews included incredible pictures: not of the food, but of planes taking off and landing, snapped from inside the restaurant. There are lots of these airfield restaurants across the United States. I found this out when I went down an online rabbit hole and found sites such as Fly2Lunch and forums compiling lists of the best restaurants to visit near or…  ( 20 min )

Gastro Obscura’s Summer Cookout columnist Paula Marcoux is a food historian and the author of Cooking With Fire: From Roasting on a Spit to Baking in a Tannur, Rediscovered Techniques and Recipes That Capture the Flavors of Wood-Fired Cooking. Throughout the summer, she’ll be sharing recipes and stories from the luminous history of open-fire cooking. For centuries, the shad inhabited the American imagination at the intersection of bountiful lusciousness and democratic access. Untold millions of good-sized, richly-flavored fish would fan out to every estuary from Florida to Maine each spring, pushing from unknown winter quarters in the Atlantic all the way to the headwaters of rivers, large and small. Their progress delivered a boon of notably delicious protein to predators from the edg…  ( 28 min )

Blink and you might miss the entrance to this 40-meter-long cave, where you can spot fossilized shells embedded in walls. About 3 million years ago, the cave and steep canyon walls were carved out by ocean waves, although the green lushness that awaits at the end of the tunnel these days feels more like a scene out of Jurassic Park than an underwater seascape. The steep canyon walls create a valley full of hairpin turns that open up at the other end of the cave. They are completely covered with a thick layer of tropical ferns. The temperature here remains around 20 degrees Celsius all year, making it not only a cool escape from Kochi's balmy summers, but also the perfect spot for over 40 species of fern to thrive. The sheer quantity and diversity of the plant life were recognized as a National Natural Monument in 1915. The 30-minute walk along the little river that runs along the bottom of the canyon and over the rustic little bridge,  with sunbeams breaking through to illuminate the bright green, curly ferns, along with the total quiet, make the Ioki Cave feel like a sacred space, and are reminiscent of scenes from Ghibli movies. There are three waterfalls, with the largest tucked away at the end of the trail, the water collecting in a green-blue pool basin. Unlike many Japanese natural beauty spots, which are often depressingly paved with concrete to make walking paths, the adjustments here are minimal. Be sure to bring sturdy shoes (or borrow some rain boots from the nearby visitor's center) to protect your feet from the damp and the occasional snake.  ( 13 min )

The approach to the Golden Gate is one of the most hazardous sea routes in the world. It is narrow with swift currents, is flanked by numerous partly submerged rocks, and is often the site of dense fog. It furthermore is heavily trafficked. Even with today's navigational aids such as radio, GPS, and radar it can be perilous. In the days of sail and steam it was much more so, as shown by the occurrence of many shipwrecks. These dangers motivated the construction of this lighthouse on the north side of the passage in 1855. The original location proved to be too high, such that the light was often obscured by fog, and so the lighthouse was moved to its present site in 1877. The light was first fueled by whale oil, then by kerosene, and then by oil vapor. Since 1927, the light has been an electric incandescent lamp. Though all these changes, the original Fresnel lens, made in the 1850s, has remained in use. The lighthouse also included a foghorn and a building housing a steam boiler, built in 1903, still exists below the lighthouse proper, although it is usually closed to the public. The foghorn was basically a steam whistle like those on locomotives. A foghorn still exists, but it is now electric. The light was finally automated in 1981, the last on the United States west coast, and the lighthouse keeper's cottage was torn down. Although the light still actively operates under the management of the US Coast Guard, the rest of the structure is accessible as a historic site managed by the National Park Service, with scheduled open times when docents are available for talks and to take questions.  ( 14 min )

A farmer named Isaac Newton Alexander bought a large tract of land along Briar Creek in 1857. Shortly after, he built a two-story grist mill on the site and hired millers to operate the device. The mill processed corn and wheat for local farmers, and was one of the first in the area to process cottonseed, peanut, and castor bean oil. It was in operation until 1896 when the mill finally shut down operations due to the addition of larger, more efficient mills in the area.  Today, the ruins of the mill are visible along the Briar Creek greenway on the edge of the Myers Park High School campus. The ruins can be freely explored and the site includes an informational sign about the mill’s history.  ( 12 min )

Dodie Smith, the author of the beloved children's book 101 Dalmatians, lived near the Suffolk town of Sudbury for more than 60 years. She frequented the town for shopping and banking, and was a recognizable presence in the community. It may come as no surprise then that Sudbury features in her classic book. One notable scene from the story features the town’s St Peter's Church. The church, or more specifically, the water fountain outside it, serves as the spot where Pongo and Missis rested while searching for their lost puppies. "They had hoped they might meet some dog and hear if any news of the puppies had come at the Twilight Barking, but not so much as a cat was stirring. While they were drinking at the fountain, church clocks began to strike midnight.” Today, visitors can still see this fountain where the two dogs took their break, though water no longer flows. Additionally, for those with a keen eye, a red bollard adorned with the bronze likeness of Pongo can be spotted across the street. This bollard is just one of the 14 in Sudbury's Talbot Trail, each bollard depicting a unique character or event from the town's rich history.  ( 12 min )

On visiting Bristol Well, visitors will be struck by what looks like terraces of obsidian near some of the ruins. The terraces are indeed made of black glass and look similar to obsidian, but they are decidedly not of natural origin. They are slag, the waste product from smelting metal from ore. A smelter was built at Bristol Well in the 1870s to process silver-lead ores from the Bristol Mine in the eponymous mountains about four miles east. The availability of water for processing, indicated by the "Well" in the name, was evidently a factor in this location.  A mill was built in 1880, and a new copper smelter was constructed around 1890, when the population may have been around 400. It didn't last however, the smelter was inactive by 1893, after which only small-scale activity took place. Bristol Well has been deserted since the early 20th century. Besides the slag terraces, a couple of partly unroofed stone buildings remain as well as the mill foundation. Of particular interest are three beehive kilns at the south edge of the site. These are ovens for making the charcoal used in the smelting. Their workmanship is not as good as many other preserved 19th-century kilns, and a couple have partly collapsed.  ( 13 min )

This article is from Hakai Magazine, an online publication about science and society in coastal ecosystems. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com. Out in the Atlantic Ocean, roughly 100 kilometers off the northwest coast of Africa, lies an archipelago known as the Canary Islands, created millions of years ago by intense volcanic activity. The biggest and most populated island, Tenerife, rises from the deep-ocean floor to a series of peaks, one of which is the third-largest volcano in the world. Tenerife’s interior highlands are a moonscape, while its coastline of lava rock and sheer cliffs is pounded by surf. In contrast to most of the island’s stark geology, north of the island’s capital, Santa Cruz, is a long crescent-shaped beach of soft yellow sand, with groves of palm t…  ( 26 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit Bennington College, where for years students snuck into a locked room for a glimpse of the strange and magical instruments created by professor Gunnar Schonbeck. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 15 min )

Among our crosswords and other puzzles, we feature linguistic challenges from around the world from puzzle aficionado and writer Alex Bellos. A PDF of the puzzle, as well as the solution, can be downloaded below. The runic alphabet used by the people of northwest Europe for more than a thousand years contains two great mysteries. The first is its origin. Was this distinctive set of jagged symbols based on the Latin alphabet or some other ancient script? The second is a strange linguistic development, believed by experts to be unique in the history of world languages—and explored in the puzzle below. Runes were used to write Old Norse and Old English, languages of the Germanic people who lived in northwest Europe in the first millennium. Originally, there were 24 runes. But in the e…  ( 15 min )

The volume of your work will do the “finding” for you Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 15 min )

Struggle less when you embrace a simple 3-step writing process Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

What to do when your narrative locomotive grinds to a halt. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 12 min )

The effects of government overreach still influence our modern literature Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 9 min )

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial group in the US but we know little about how Asian immigration has affected cities, neighborhoods and schools. This paper studies white flight from Asian arrivals in high-socioeconomic-status Californian school districts from 2000-2016 using initial settlement patterns and national immigrant flows to instrument for entry. We find that, as […] The post White Flight from Asian Immigration: Evidence from California Public Schools appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Steve Sailer. Business opportunity. 200 K buys a ... by The Game In reply to Larry Siegel. This is why the GPA as a measure of ... by EdR In reply to Indoor camping. Another bogus paper- how does ... by Antony T. In reply to Lee. Yes. People make countries. Bashar Assad ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to superdestroyer. Right. But Asians are now very ... by Steve Sailer Plus 10 more... Related Stories The Running Seminar My podcast with Jon Hartley Alexey summarizes the advice he hears me give people  ( 6 min )

1. Bhutanese leaving for Australia. 2. Uri Geller update, and Uri Geller as hoarder (NYT). 3. AI translates Akkadian tablets.  And the latest capabilities of GPT-4. 4. Guam (NYT, a very good piece). 5. Wemby up to 27 points for his second Summer League game. 6. Sri Lankan speculative fiction. The post Monday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Emily. I find the prospect of “automated ... by Skeptical American In reply to mkt42. Great use of “synecdoche”…I remember ... by Formerly K 2 the uri geller blah blah is gonna be bra-less monday's ezra ... by we are all straussians now In reply to Hazel Meade. I'm not so sure; that seems like ... by M In reply to steve. “Too bad Giannis doesnt play in a big ... by Formerly K Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

Maxim Massenkoff asks a very good question. If pollution reduces birth weight as much as the micro studies on pollution suggest, why aren’t birth weights very low in very polluted cities and countries? Figure 1, for example, shows birth weights in a variety of highly polluted world cities. The yellow dashed and blue lines show […] The post The Birth-Weight Pollution Paradox appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments for a good time get the dean o' diversity to gender-splain ... by snowboobs In reply to Rahul. Those decreases occurred over a long time ... by steve In reply to Anonymous. Obviously, it depends on what is meant ... by How many people spend eight hours a day in the gym? In reply to Marian Kechlibar. Correction: neonatal DEATHS, ... by Marian Kechlibar Interesting. Late Communist Czechoslovakia had extremely ... by Marian Kechlibar Plus 10 more... Related Stories Why the NYC congestion pricing plan is bad Markets in everything those new (Japanese) service sector jobs The Running Seminar  ( 8 min )

I am seeing some critical comments on my latest column, mostly from people who are not reading it through, or in some cases they are making basic mistakes in economics.  Let me start with part of my conclusion: I suspect that I could endorse a properly targeted version of congestion pricing for Manhattan, for instance, […] The post Why the NYC congestion pricing plan is bad appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Mike in VA. The DC transit system doesn't have ... by Fizz-Assist In reply to For bus travel (or any transit) to be “easier,” ... by giacomo In reply to steve. Crime increased everywhere with covid so ... by MikeP In reply to So Much For Subtlety. Yes, I've ridden the buses ... by In the U.S., buses in blue cities are almost uniformly unpleasant, and frequently unsafe In reply to giacomo. Which Blue cities refuse to make happen, ... by For bus travel (or any transit) to be "easier," it has to be safe and clean Plus 10 more... Related Stories The Birth-Weight Pollution Paradox Markets in everything those new (Japanese) service sector jobs The Running Seminar  ( 10 min )

Luca Carlone and Jonathan How of MIT LIDS discuss how future robots might perceive and interact with their environment.  ( 8 min )

We tested 10 loaf pans with three different bread recipes to see which ones browned evenly, baked tall and neat loaves, and were easy to clean.  ( 28 min )

The 1970s were a transformative decade for film, marked by innovative filmmakers and ground-breaking experiments. The decade is now widely celebrated for its significant contributions to the film-making craft, characterised by pushing boundaries in both storytelling and film-making techniques. Perhaps reflecting the cultural zeitgeist, the films became more thought provoking and socially conscious, with crime […]  ( 10 min )

For several years now, David Ben-Zvi, Yiannis Sakellaridis and Akshay Venkatesh have been working on a project involving a relative version of Langlands duality, which among many other things provides a perspective on L-functions and periods of automorphic forms inspired … Continue reading →  ( 6 min )

Allan Cousins writes: I have recently been thinking about the way in which professionals come to accumulate “knowledge” over their careers and how that process utilizes (read: abuses) the notion of corroboration. I believe this might be of interest to … Continue reading →  ( 26 min )

The other day we discussed some hype around the article, “Impact of cold exposure on life satisfaction and physical composition of soldiers,” published in the journal BMJ Military Health. According to a Stanford professor, podcast participant, and supplement salesman, “deliberate … Continue reading →  ( 12 min )

A journal for conference proceedings which published a duplicate article has updated the later version, after originally telling the researcher who noticed the duplication that the articles were different enough to warrant publishing both.   The article, titled “Production and storage of polarized H2, D2, and HD molecules,” was published twice in the journal Proceedings of … Continue reading ‘Shocked and flabbergasted’: Journal updates duplicate article it had said was “sufficiently” different from original  ( 10 min )

Join our workshop on An Open Source Framework for Choice Based Conjoint Experiments in R, which is a part of our workshops for Ukraine series!  Here’s some more info:  Title:An Open Source Framework for Choice Based Conjoint Experiments in R Date: Thursday, August 10th, 18:00 – 20:00 CEST (Rome, Berlin, Paris ... Continue reading: An Open Source Framework for Choice Based Conjoint Experiments in R workshop  ( 12 min )

Another one from the series on “misspecified regression models” Continue reading: Testing functional specification in linear regression  ( 18 min )

A while ago we looked at Geelong and the curse of the bye. And since the AFL media have outdone themselves this year with “curse of the bye” articles: see for example here, here, here and here, I decided to revisit the topic in more depth. If you like that ... Continue reading: The “curse of the bye” revisited  ( 8 min )

We are pleased to announce that Rhino 1.4 is now available on CRAN! This update simplifies dependency management in your project, allows you to integrate React seamlessly into your app, and resolves some issues with {box} modules. Read on to learn more! Simplified Dependency Management Rhino relies on {renv} for managing ... Continue reading: Rhino 1.4.0 Update on CRAN: Streamlined Dependency Management and React Support  ( 11 min )

The Importance of Molecular Visualization and Analysis in Drug Discovery Drug discovery is a process that allows scientists to identify novel drug candidates that could eventually be approved for the treatment of a disease. There is an interesting relationship between drug discovery and the visualization of large molecular structures, such ... Continue reading: Unveiling a New Era in Molecular Visualization: Introducing shiny.molstar for Large Molecular Structures Visualization in R  ( 18 min )

It’s the end of Creative Writing as we know it. Unless it’s not. Last week I tried ChatGPT as a writing (rather than cheating) tool for the first time, inputting a single sentence and then various questions to see how it was at drafting fiction. Short answer: not great. Aside from a terrible idea-to-word ratio […]  ( 22 min )

More than 100 families of children with autism and ADHD are suing companies that market acetaminophen, the pain reliever in Tylenol and an array of other medications. At the heart of the lawsuits is a debate over how to interpret acetaminophen studies. The answer has profound implications for public health.  ( 21 min )

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Headline from NL Times (9 July 2023): "Sheep farmer injured after wolf attack in Wapse, ordered to be shot." Poor sheep farmer; our condolences to his family. Selected readings "Vocalizations of wolves and justices" (2/17/23) "Year of the ovicaprid" (2/15/15) "Crash blossoms" (8/6/09) [Thanks to Jonathan Silk]  ( 9 min )

More savory Chinglish from Dunhuang: lāo zhī qiāncéng dù 捞汁千层肚 "thousand-layered tripe scooped from broth" gàn bàn shùnfēng ěr 干拌顺风耳 "dry mixed clairaudient (pig) ears" N.B.:  When Chinese eat the ears of an animal, it's usually those of pigs.  To prettify the pigs' ears, they style them "clairaudient".  No mention of chili sauce in the Chinese. […]  ( 7 min )

A soon-to-retire Scotland Yard investigator, insulted when asked to investigate the theft of a library book, finds that it’s a case he can’t put down.  ( 2 min )

No content preview  ( 1 min )

After I crocheted Whitney Umbrellas, I got excited that I figured out how to crochet through an existing layer of fabric. I decided to use my skills to crochet “correct-er” Klein bottles. A Klein bottle is a cool mathematical surface with only one side, similar to the Möbius strip. Unlike the strip, the Klein bottle […]  ( 5 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

And never losing that compassion Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 13 min )

And the many ways you can use “since” in your writing Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 10 min )

Writers can’t ignore generative AI Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Certain tech bosses are notoriously temperamental – so much so that conflict-averse folks have been known to put in their notice while the execs are on leave. But some Japanese employees have taken this a step further – actually employing an agent to quit their job for them. The idea is to extricate themselves from […] The post Markets in everything those new (Japanese) service sector jobs appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Todd K. 😂 I love sarcasm! Well done! by EdR In reply to Justin Chang. Economies of scale. by Tom T. In reply to rayward. I once worked for a company that was ... by Dino the Isaurian Thank you rayward The prolific and insightful commentator ... by Atom In reply to alaska3636. When you answer a question such as to ... by Equestrian Plus 10 more... Related Stories Stephen King on inflation targets The Running Seminar My podcast with Jon Hartley  ( 6 min )

1. Henry Oliver on Bleak House, one of the few serious candidates for greatest novel ever. 2. Human and dolphins video. 3. Arnold Kling links to consider. 4. Does cognitive proficiency predict skill with guns? 5. Cow compensation for the Maasai. 6. Jason Crawford looks at power-seeking and alignment issues. The post Sunday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Formerly K. Oh I don't literally remember all the ... by mkt42 In reply to sxb. Years go I watched a documentary about human ... by mkt42 In reply to mkt42. How many times have you seen that movie? ... by Formerly K “3. Arnold Kling links to consider.” 'Samuelson's ... by mkt42 In reply to Cancelled for wongthink. That was my immediate ... by mkt42 Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

Olivier Blanchard on Stan Fisher: For a number of years, the informal thesis seminar was replaced by a running seminar, in which thesis students would run with Rudi and Stan around the Charles River. One of us would be asked to present his or her work while running. When the argument became too involved, Rudi […] The post The Running Seminar appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Formerly K. With a little prompting, I can ... by mkt42 In reply to Formerly K. It's a novel approach to ... by aaron In reply to blue jay. Just to clarify: the appropriate limit ... by blue jay In reply to Equestrian. Truthful lips endure forever, but a ... by Proverbs 12:19 In reply to Formerly K. I remember those guys, too. Enis was ... by Frank Wrench Plus 10 more... Related Stories My podcast with Jon Hartley Alexey summarizes the advice he hears me give people How will artificial intelligence affect real interest rates?  ( 6 min )

In this paper, we use two field experiments to study how AI recruitment tools can impact gender diversity in the male-dominated technology sector, both overall and separately for labor supply and demand. We find that the use of AI in recruitment changes the gender distribution of potential hires, in some cases more than doubling the […] The post Might AI boost gender diversity? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to DeQuan. Is that because you want to put your STEM ... by Fake Bill In reply to Rich Berger. Yes masks and diversity are fetishes ... by Plenty o Fetish in the Sea In reply to malmesbury. DeQuan is not a man. he’s a boy. by Anonymously here In reply to Utter Bull. Why is it that everytime a man ... by malmesbury In reply to Bill. Anyone who follows the area knows that the ... by Gardner Cai Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

Is there fatigue with the experiment?: Portugal decriminalized all drug use, including marijuana, cocaine and heroin, in an experiment that inspired similar efforts elsewhere, but now police are blaming a spike in the number of people who use drugs for a rise in crime. In one neighborhood, state-issued paraphernalia — powder-blue syringe caps, packets of […] The post How is Portuguese drug decriminalization going? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to steve. So let's try this again: Which ... by Sure In reply to Floccina. Oh please. In 40 years we have gotten ... by Sure In reply to Old Programmer. Drug use is one of the stronger ... by Sure In reply to Sure. “Per capita US drug deaths have steadily ... by Floccina In reply to steve. So, Steve, drug treatment programs – ... by peri Plus 10 more... Related Stories The order of spousal names on tax returns Nigeria reform of the day (again) My excellent Conversation with Reid Hoffman  ( 7 min )

Just out, by my colleague Daniel B. Klein, I have not yet read it.  It is described as follows: Central Notions of Smithian Liberalism explores notions jural, political, and economic. The author does intellectual history as a way of theorizing—that is, to advance political theory, jural theory, moral theory, social theory, economic theory. The author treats […] The post Central Notions of Smithian Liberalism appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.        Related Stories *Germany in the World* What could be more self-recommending than this? Who first declared that God is dead?  ( 7 min )

Mark Srednicki doesn’t look like a high priest. He’s a professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB); and you’ll sooner find him in khakis than in sacred vestments. Humor suits his round face better than channeling … Continue reading →  ( 11 min )

Who invented monoidal categories? And who invented the *term* monoidal categories? Hint: not Mac Lane.  ( 8 min )

Jonathan Falk writes: I just watched the 1947 movie Boomerang!, an early directorial effort by Elia Kazan. It tells the (apparently true) story of Homer Cummings, a DA who took it upon himself to argue for the nonprosecution of a … Continue reading →  ( 17 min )

Ironfish synth (github) 📌 “a creative software development platform for Rust...” select.pink (github) 📌 “A game of CSS selectors” Wordi “Guess the 6 words in the fewest tries.” s l o w  r o a d s “endless driving zen” PLINK! “Create epic music together with friends and strangers!”  ( 1 min )

HTTP Headers Hashing (HHHash) is a technique developed by Alexandre Dulaunoy to generate a fingerprint of an HTTP server based on the headers it returns. It employs one-way hashing to generate a hash value from the list of header keys returned by the server. The HHHash value is calculated by ... Continue reading: New R Package For HTTP Headers Hashing  ( 9 min )

Summary A qualitative overview of the midfieldr package and its application following its initial CRAN release. midfieldr provides tools and recommended methods for working with individual undergraduate student-level records (registrar’s ... Continue reading: midfieldr v1.0.1  ( 13 min )

We've had extensive discussions about the Old Sinitic reconstruction of the Sinitic word for "wheat".  Although we've been circling around it for quite some time now, we haven't yet nailed it down securely, but we're close.  While we're still occupied with "wheat", Martin Schwartz sends in this terse, seemingly cryptic, but extremely interesting information about […]  ( 16 min )

Another comment on remark 6.6.30: As the ring k[x]/(x^2) is not reduced, this is maybe not a strong counterexample that the converse of 6.6.R does not hold.  ( 12 min )

Who invented monoidal categories? And who invented the *term* monoidal categories? Hint: not Mac Lane.  ( 8 min )

Poem About a Crow In a barren springtime field Stands a woman dressed in black Crying her sisters’ names Like a bird in the empty sky She’ll cry them all out of herself The one that flew away too soon The one that had begged to die The one that couldn’t stop death The one […]  ( 6 min )

In my book, Public Opinion, I wrote about the interpretation of historical survey data:   "Sometimes the absence of survey questions can be telling.  No survey organization seems to have asked about the internment of Japanese-Americans during the Second World War, or about reactions to the 1944 Supreme Court decision that found the internment to be constitutional, and this absence suggests that the policy was not regarded as particularly controversial at that time."  I had searched the Roper Center's iPoll database for questions, and may have checked the historical compilation published by the Gallup Poll in the 1970s.  But apparently I hadn't looked in Public Opinion, 1935-46 (by Hadley Cantril and Mildred Strunk), which attempted to collect the results for every survey question asked in …  ( 9 min )

The Art of Mastering Productive Laziness and Yielding Gold Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 13 min )

When stories and characters are tools for corporate building Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 11 min )

Three questions about actions of profinite groups.  ( 2 min )

Three questions about actions of profinite groups.  ( 2 min )

1. Brian Potter on titanium. 2. Finland’s Åland Islands? 3. Las Vegas now has the world’s largest spherical structure? 4. IIT branch to open in Zanzibar. 5. Okie-Dokie. 6. A claim about Hoover, and a defense. The post Saturday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to bazza. Thanks! ... by Richard In reply to Justin Chang. The rumors about Dan Ariely are ... by EdR 6. Hoover used to work in Australia as a mine manager. But he ... by Crikey In reply to EdR. Corn poops my master b.s. artist, oh prior! by Equestrian In reply to PHinton. I’m sorry me getting vaccinated ... by Cancelled for wongthink Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

He clearly is a special and multi-faceted talent, but I am worried.  Most of all, I am worried by his body shape, which reminds me of both Pervis Ellison and Shawn Bradley, with a height somewhere in between those two.  Players with that kind of physique typically have problems a) avoiding injuries, and b) avoiding […] The post Wemby appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to mkt42. I was gonna nitpick on the “Brooks is ... by Formerly K In reply to Torn. @Steve Olajuwon was like 6'10” at most. ... by Formerly K In reply to Formerly K. Agreed on Murray. Don’t think he is ... by Steve In reply to mkt42. I agree with everything you've said, but ... by Formerly K In reply to Alan Goldhammer. This is probably the best ... by Formerly K Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

Jon is a Ph.D. student at Stanford and also at Hoover.  We talked quite a bit about my career and history, schools of economic thought, and economics education, a very good chat, here is the podcast.  Here is Jon’s whole podcast series, with many good people.  Here is Jon on Twitter. The post My podcast with Jon Hartley appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Pretty interesting podcast episode, particularly for anyone ... by Blackthorne Tyler: At about 5:28, you said that you thought Reagan would ... by Justin Chang Listening to the podcast I was taken by how much of their world ... by rayward In reply to Ben Shoot. Could you kindly take your rage on ... by Chimela Caesar Related Stories Alexey summarizes the advice he hears me give people How will artificial intelligence affect real interest rates? Stephen King on inflation targets  ( 6 min )

That is a very new paper by Daron Acemoglu and MIT grad student Todd Lensman, here is the abstract: Transformative technologies like generative artificial intelligence promise to accelerate productivity growth across many sectors, but they also present new risks from potential misuse. We develop a multi-sector technology adoption model to study the optimal regulation of […] The post Regulating Transformative Technologies appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to PHinton. One gets the impression that if Putin ... by Tom T. I was struck by this: “Equilibrium adoption is inefficient ... by Philo In reply to M. My point was that last year the US hated ... by PHinton In reply to For the Record. Yes, the weasel words get tighter ... by Phinton In reply to M. I took his comment as a straussian statement ... by Dino the Isaurian Plus 10 more... Related Stories Teaching GPT to send bitcoin payments Threads Questions that are rarely asked  ( 7 min )

Matt Bogard writes: I don’t have full access to this article to know the full details and can’t seem to access the data link but with n = 49 split into treatment and control groups for these outcomes (also making … Continue reading →  ( 22 min )

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? The week at Retraction Watch featured: Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up to more than 300. There are now 41,000 retractions in our database — which powers retraction alerts in EndNote, LibKey, Papers, and Zotero. The Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker now contains 200 titles. And have you … Continue reading Weekend reads: NIH defunds Colombian monkey facility; Carlo Croce loses another court battle; ‘peer review is porous’  ( 7 min )

Sign at Dunhuang, at the western end of the Gansu Corridor in northwestern China, where I did my doctoral research more than half a century ago (there were no signs like this in those days): The sign says: qǐng wù xīyān 请勿吸烟 "Please do not smoke" Easiest Chinglish I ever had to figure out. Selected readings *Chinese 'No […]  ( 7 min )

I translated to R the JavaScipt code for the Doyle spiral written by library(rootSolve) # for the function multiroot Continue reading: The Doyle spiral with R  ( 11 min )

Finalist #8 in the Book Review Contest

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

Everyone can captivate an audience. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 15 min )

Whether you’re starting out or you’ve been at this for a while, there’s something here for you Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 12 min )

Language Flows. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 14 min )

Artificial intelligence programs like ChatGPT have learned how to send bitcoin payments. To put this in other words… Machines can pay other machines.pic.twitter.com/j9VtLxpJc8 — Documenting ₿itcoin 📄 (@DocumentingBTC) July 7, 2023 Via Whail. The post Teaching GPT to send bitcoin payments appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to (Anonymous) AI Company Founder w/ CS PhD. What ... by Ben Shot In reply to Jack. I wouldn't be so optimistic — sum ting is ... by Ben Shot It's interesting that they can pay each other, but useless ... by Jeff Curious about your take on Sutskever's comments on Doomsday AI. ... by Antony T. I am turning cartwheels! Why? Because the related compound ... by monetary economics is too complicated Plus 7 more... Related Stories Threads Questions that are rarely asked People Hire Phone Bots to Torture Telemarketers  ( 6 min )

1. “But when Seema Ghulam Haider, 27, a married Pakistani Muslim, sneaked into India with her four children to be with Sachin Meena, 22, a Hindu man, their time together was brief.” (NYT) 2. John Coltrane in Italian. 3. “Many people with hoarding tendencies never face intervention.” 4. New Tablet podcast with Walter Russell Mead. […] The post Friday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to jayson. I think libertarians skew higher IQ and ... by alaska3636 In reply to Justin Chang. A lot of older and more ... by alaska3636 In reply to peri. Another sweet thing – more for the ... by peri In reply to JWatts. Does that mean we don’t have to pay for ... by California In reply to peri. This is the other problem–there is a ... by Formerly K Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

You can always do better. Don’t do a big project if the conversations you have w/ your future colleagues are not the most exciting ones you have. Prepare to live in times of change. What great people work on is overdetermined because it’s clear what the greatest thing to do is at any point in […] The post Alexey summarizes the advice he hears me give people appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Chimela Caesar. The solution to not accepting the ... by Professor In reply to Rebes. The deathbed is neither a good time nor a ... by Professor In reply to Rebes. Right, the author is not adequately ... by mkt42 In reply to Justin Chang. It sounds like a list from Guzey. ... by mkt42 In reply to Reason. Oh, we knew, we knew. I remember one ... by Faze Plus 10 more... Related Stories My excellent Conversation with Reid Hoffman Markets in everything Alaska regulatory arbitrage edition, tribal qualifier added *The Monetarists*, by George S. Tavlas  ( 6 min )

In standard models, a big dose of AI boosts productivity, which in turn boosts the return on capital, which then raises real interest rates. I am less convinced.  For one thing, I believe most of the gains from truly fundamental innovations are not captured by capital.  Was Gutenberg a billionaire?  The more fundamental the innovation, […] The post How will artificial intelligence affect real interest rates? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Some Guy. I am sorry but perhaps over this side ... by So Much For Subtlety “Overall, that blurring of nominal and real will make the ... by Scott Sumner In reply to anonprof. Yep. CalTech had classes on neural ... by Bill In reply to Reason. Fundamental innovation is not the same as ... by Umm In reply to Reason. The iPhone was transformational. It was ... by Tom Meadowcroft Plus 10 more... Related Stories Stephen King on inflation targets The new Austrian business cycle theory The rise of niche consumption  ( 7 min )

Yes. Most rural Minnesota counties have declined in population since 2010, losing an average of nearly 4%, according to a 2021 Center for Rural Policy and Development report.  ( 6 min )

The grant-funded initiative, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, began rolling out four years ago and, so far, has budgeted nearly $32 million to provide access and care for thousands of mothers and babies nationwide — for instance, Hispanic women along the Rio Grande or Indigenous mothers in Minnesota.  ( 21 min )

A question for the racist, xenophobic and anti-immigrant – what part of “immigrants are here to stay” don’t you understand?  ( 11 min )

Yes. Explore Minnesota collaborated with the Wanderful Wives, a travel vlogging duo, in 2022 to promote Pride and other activities in the area.  ( 6 min )

Plus: Reassessing 3M; Republican lawmakers get married on the 4th of July; two Minneapolis beaches closed due to E. Coli; new Prince singles released from the vault; and more.  ( 6 min )

A few sentences contained in the 380-page tax bill passed by the Legislature would mean higher tax bills for 76% of Minnesota taxpayers.  ( 14 min )

Why close a car-free bridge when the crimes in question involve cars? Also, let's celebrate St. Paul's High Bridge while calling out that the Hennepin Avenue bridge is the Chrysler PT Cruiser of bridges.  ( 16 min )

Yes. Eligible businesses received an average of $72,100 in PPP loan forgiveness, according to the latest government data.  ( 6 min )

Retention, the holy grail of customer service, is more achievable with happy consumers (in this case Minnesota being the product). They don't just stick around; they become active participants in the growth and success of your organization.  ( 13 min )

The dueling messaging over the economy is expected to intensify as the political support of American’s middle class in the presidential election is at stake.  ( 15 min )

Tottenham Hotspur F.C. holds a place in the hearts of football fans worldwide. The prestigious football team competes in the Premier League, the highest echelon of English football. This has not always been the case however, and in 2023 the club restored a piece of its history that shines a light on Spurs’ humble beginnings. Legend has it that a group of schoolboys, Robert "Bobby" Buckle, Hamilton Casey, and John Anderson, huddled under a gaslit lamppost on Tottenham High Road one evening in 1882. Having played cricket at the Hotspurs Cricket Club, the boys, aged 13 and 14, pondered how to while away their time during the impending cricket off-season over winter. After some consideration, they decided that football would be the best solution. Their plans were soon put into action when Ca…  ( 13 min )

When Jenny Products invented the steam cleaner in 1927, it was originally called the “Hypressure Vapor Spray Generator.” That name proved to be a bit of a mouthful, and was eventually shortened to “High Pressure Jenny.” As Jenny Products Company continued their successful business, they decided to celebrate.  In the late 1960s, the company erected this spinning fiberglass globe on a tall pole. Though shaped like a water tower, this is in fact a map of the earth which serves as an eye-catching advertisement for Jenny Products.  ( 12 min )

White Pocket is a unique and visually stunning geological formation located in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona. It is situated within the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, a protected area known for its rugged beauty and remarkable rock formations. The closest developed town is Page, Arizona, about an hour east of the trailhead. White Pocket is characterized by its swirling and intricate patterns of white and red Navajo sandstone, which have been sculpted over millions of years by the forces of wind and water erosion. The result is a mesmerizing landscape that resembles a frozen wave or a surreal painting. The rock formations at White Pocket often feature delicate, contorted layers, creating an otherworldly and dreamlike atmosphere. Due to its remote location, White Pocket sees fewer visitors compared to other famous landmarks in Arizona like the Grand Canyon or Antelope Canyon. This relative seclusion adds to the appeal for those seeking a quieter and more intimate outdoor experience.  Photographers and nature enthusiasts are particularly drawn to White Pocket for its unique and photogenic landscapes. The intricate patterns, textures, and vibrant colors of the sandstone formations provide endless opportunities for creative compositions. It is also a popular destination for hikers and backpackers who enjoy exploring the wilderness and the surrounding area.  Access to White Pocket is challenging, as it is located in a remote and rugged area. The journey typically requires a four-wheel-drive vehicle and navigation skills, as the roads are unpaved and can be rough. Visitors are advised to come prepared with plenty of water, food, and fuel, as there are no facilities or services available. It is highly recommended that visitors plan their trip in advance and check the official website of the Bureau of Land Management for up-to-date information.  ( 13 min )

The love child of a couple named Dennis and Barbara, this little village is a special sight nestled neatly in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Located right off of PA 52, you can't miss it. The Little Village is complete with a diner, a school, a filling station, a crab shack, and more. According to Dennis, he's always expanding.  ( 12 min )

Metro de Madrid, the underground transport service in the capital uses to pay homage in its subway stations to architectural or artistic landmarks of those places that due to their proximity, may be interesting for users or tourists who travel on this public transport. Hence, the inauguration of this new Metro Station in 2007 and the nearby planetarium justified this astronomical-inspired mural. The first thing that catches our attention is the ceramic huge disk of five meters in diameter that represents the Earth. Blue and green colors abound in it. There is a model composed of the streets of this Madrid neighborhood in which the green color represents the Tierno Galván Park where the planetarium is located and occupies a predominant position. The near motorway M-30 painted in blue re…  ( 14 min )

In the Mayan language, Ka' Kutzal, the name of this cenote, means "rebirth" or "back to life." An appropriate name considering its history. The only Costco store in the city of Mérida (as of early 2023) sits between what is known as the city's Industrial Zone and a residential neighborhood called Cordemex. Both of these are related to the past of the site, as a factory once stood here that manufactured fibers out of the henequén (sisal) plant, a mainstay of Yucatan's industry. The factory was owned by the Cordemex company, the world's largest sisal products manufacturer. When the factory was demolished and its floor removed, beneath a 15-centimeter layer of cement, a surprising find awaited and this natural sinkhole was rediscovered. Formed from the collapse of an underground cave, likely thousands of years ago, above a freshwater reservoir which was then exposed to the open, this cenote extends underwater in several directions into caverns and tunnels for tens of meters. The "Costco cenote," as the sinkhole is also known, had a garden built surrounding it in its small "island" in the middle of the asphalted parking lot. Considering that the Cordemex factory closed in 1991 and Costco's store wasn't opened until 2015, Ka' Kutzal's rediscovery has certainly made it worthy of the "returned to life" name.  ( 13 min )

Skyscrapers are so common nowadays that it is hard to imagine a time when they were new and trendy. But a century ago, this was very much the case. As a product of industrialization, these types of buildings became popular all over the world. As with all new things, there was skepticism and a pioneer was needed to help people get used to the idea. The Swedish architect Sven Wallander was such a man, introducing Europe to its first skyscraper.  While certainly a forward-thinking man, Wallander was by no means quick. Skyscrapers were an American invention, with the first one being built in Chicago in 1885, and many more following behind it. But the first kungtorn was not built until 1924. The second followed soon after, and was completed in 1925. The first tower is based on the older style of Manhattan skyscrapers in the early 1920s, many elements of which can be spotted in the design of the tower. In fact, Wallander made a study trip to the island to get inspiration for the first ever skyscraper in Europe.   The second tower was designed by Ivar Callmander, who went for a more Art Nouveau style. Both towers had 17 floors and stood 60 meters high, although Callmander added one meter to his tower to have the tallest skyscraper in Europe. The two towers became immediate icons for the city and drew many tourists. It was not long after this that skyscrapers started being built in the rest of the continent.  ( 13 min )

Wonder is everywhere. That’s why, every other week, Atlas Obscura drags you down some of the rabbit holes we encounter as we search for our unusual stories. We highlight surprising finds, great writing, and inspiring stories from some of our favorite publications. How a Secret Convoy Evacuated Ukraine’s Iconic Art by Benjamin Dodman, France24 The Byzantine icons that went on display this month at the Louvre in Paris were evacuated from one of Kyiv’s most prestigious art galleries, the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko Museum, in mid-May under military guard, as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the country’s cultural artifacts from Russian attack. “They’re not just Ukrainian treasures or Byzantine heritage,” said a curator from the Khanenko Museum. “They are hugely important to world…  ( 20 min )

The string of limestone islands slung between India and Sri Lanka was once a bridge built by Rama to retrieve his wife, held hostage on the island; or, it was crossed by Adam on his flight from Eden—depending on which epic you prefer. To the north, the shallows of the Palk Bay eventually become the Bay of Bengal. To the south, the Gulf of Mannar is the antechamber of the Indian Ocean. Formerly fertile fishing grounds, both bodies of water are now hotbeds of a relatively recent kind of marine-based misdeed: sea cucumber crime. Crimes Against Sea Cucumbers As this map from the German magazine Katapult indicates, the number of criminal incidents in both India and Sri Lanka involving sea cucumbers has increased from no more than eight in 2015 to no less than 58 in 2020. In other words: I…  ( 22 min )

Long before he wrote famous poems including "O Captain! My Captain!" and "Song of Myself,"  Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, in a farmhouse in Huntington, Long Island. The house was constructed by his father, who added several architectural quirks that distinguish it from others of its time—including a staircase built with every step of a different height and a penny embedded in the banister. Whitman, who was the second of nine children, lived here with his parents, older brother, and younger sister (grandma stayed over too on occasion) for the first four years of his life, before moving to Brooklyn in 1823. It was in his birthplace, where his family kept a farm, that he developed his love of nature and admiration for the virtues of day-to-day labor. After Whitman's family moved out, the house passed through various tenants—some of whom respected its storied origins more than others. In 1949, it was nearly sold for development before intervention from the newly founded Walt Whitman Birthplace Association, which ran a campaign across Long Island to buy the property. Nowadays, the birthplace is a museum managed by the Association and New York State. Visitors can get a tour of the place that birthed the father of free verse.  ( 13 min )

For many of us, summer conjures a patchwork quilt of memories set against blue skies and a bright, sweltering sun. Perhaps you remember trekking as a kid through a real-world version of Jurassic Park, such as Kentucky’s Dinosaur World, or venturing to a remote observatory, like the famed Tatacoa Astronomia in Villavieja, Colombia. Or maybe you remember family RV trips through America’s national parks, or stumbling across a beach covered in sea glass in Hawai‘i. Whatever summer memories come to mind, one thing’s for sure—we all remember warm July days spent exploring the unknown. In these four episodes of the Atlas Obscura Podcast, host Dylan Thuras asked listeners to share their most magical summer memories. From becoming vegetarian after eating at a northern Michigan restaurant filled with taxidermied animals to walking from London to Rome following in the steps of a medieval archbishop, listen to some of the delightful stories listeners shared with us. Magical Summer Memories Vol. 1 Hear about encounters with wild bears in Michigan, filling water jugs at Mississippi’s fountain of youth, and one couple’s journey to a remote Bulgarian village to try Cherni Vit Green Cheese. Magical Summer Memories Vol. 2 Hear about one man’s trek from St Paul’s Cathedral in London to St Peter’s Cathedral in Rome, recreating the route of the 10th-century Archbishop of Canterbury, Sigeric. The 110-day journey followed the Via Francigena, an ancient pilgrimage way that Sigeric traveled more than a thousand years ago. Magical Summer Memories Vol. 3 - The Cardiff Giant Hear a listener’s tale of a theological dispute that became a real moneymaker known to some as “Old Hoaxy.” It all started in October 1869 when workers discovered a gigantic, 10-foot-tall stone man dubbed the Cardiff Giant in New York State. Magical Summer Memories Vol. 4 - The Magic of Water In this final installment of summer stories, we tackle a topic that transcends the seasons—the captivating magic of water during travel.  ( 14 min )

A tight labor market offers financial hope to many low-income workers but only if our government rethinks its hard limits for benefit programs

What a patient and family members can expect from the recently approved drug lecanemab—and what more is needed to help stop Alzheimer’s dementia

What a patient and family members can expect from the recently approved drug lecanemab—and what more is needed to help stop Alzheimer’s dementia

Health-damaging PFASs are nearly impossible to break down—but a new hot-water technique can destroy them

States will get less funding for childhood vaccines, a move linked to the recent debt ceiling deal

A new supercomputer is helping climate scientists determine whether injecting human-made, sun-blocking aerosols into the stratosphere would also alter thunderstorms and rainfall

Along with the Stop WOKE Act and bills banning diversity efforts, the Supreme Court’s “affirmative action” decision is part of a larger effort to pretend racism doesn’t exist

“If, by some chance, there’s another being out there that might connect to it, I wanted them to know that regardless of how it may seem sometimes, we love this Earth,” says poet Ada Limón about her poem

ChatGPT and other AI programs can offer medical advice. But how good are they?

Thank you, Ravi!  ( 12 min )

Dear Ravi, I love your book and hope to see it in print soon! Two small comments (if I am not mistaken): In Exercise 6.6.D the exact sequence is not necessarily left exact, i.e. multiplication by x is not injective. In Exercise 6.6.N the Noetherian hypothesis is not needed for the first assertion, i.e. that A_p non-reduced is equivalent to the p is in the support of the nilradical. It is only needed for the second assertion about the openness of the reduced locus.  ( 12 min )

With only three directorial efforts under his belt, Ari Aster has already established himself as a brand-name filmmaker with a strong authorial stamp and a cult following, having jolted new life into arthouse and genre cinema alike in recent years. Now, the mastermind behind “Hereditary” and “Midsommar” is once again on everyone’s lips following the […]  ( 8 min )

Sweet, savory, and everything in between.  ( 16 min )

Using storebought and homemade nixtamalized masa, we put eight tortilla presses to the test to find ones that made perfect fresh tortillas easily and quickly.  ( 22 min )

Lynn (of TITAA and general NLP wizardy fame) was gracious enough to lend me a Bluesky invite, so I could claim my handle on yet-another social media site. I’m still wary of it (as noted in one of this week’s Drops), but the AT protocol — whilst super (lacking ... Continue reading: Poor Dude’s Janky Bluesky Feed Reader CLI Via R & Python  ( 10 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Illustration of Graphical Gaussian Process models to analyze highly multivariate spatial data  ( 44 min )

I’ve been learning at least one new programming language a month through Continue reading: Array Languages: R vs APL  ( 31 min )

If you know a bit about quantum physics, you might have heard that everything is made out of particles. Mass comes from Higgs particles, gravity from graviton particles, and light and electricity and magnetism from photon particles. The particles are the “quanta”, the smallest possible units of stuff. This is not really how quantum physics […]  ( 12 min )

One of the things that keeps me busy these days is the organization of a collective publication by a number of experts in artificial intelligence and top researchers in all areas of scientific investigation. I will tell you more of that project at another time, but today I wish to share with you the first draft of a short introduction I wrote for it. I am confident that it will withstand a number of revisions and additions, so by the time we will eventually publish our work, the text will be no doubt quite different from what you get to read here, which makes me comfortable about pre-publishing it. read more  ( 7 min )

From the Wall Street Journal ‘The Oldest Book in the World’ Review: Also Sprach Ptahhatp A set of maxims attributed to an adviser of an Egyptian pharaoh may be the world’s earliest surviving work of philosophy. By Dominic Green July 6, 2023 6:20 pm ET What have we?  Philosophy in the Age of the Pyramids?  […]  ( 11 min )

Joe Marshall, "As AI cheating booms, so does the industry detecting it: ‘We couldn’t keep up with demand’", The Guardian 7/5/2023: Since its release last November, ChatGPT has shaken the education world. The chatbot and other sophisticated AI tools are reportedly being used everywhere from college essays to high school art projects. A recent survey […]  ( 9 min )

This picture troubled me: (source) It seems that the person at the right side of the photograph is saluting with his left hand.  I wondered whether that is permissible in the armed forces? I asked Captain James Fanell, a retired high-ranking naval officer in the Pacific Fleet, how to explain the saluting behavior of this […]  ( 10 min )

I just read “Lying for Money: How Legendary Frauds Reveal the Workings of Our World,” by Dan Davies. I think the author is the same Dan Davies who came up with the saying, “Good ideas do not need lots of … Continue reading →  ( 43 min )

User Sentimental eXperience The Wasted Life Collective Library of Colors Taylor Jadin Tildes 📌 Enjoy!  ( 1 min )

Last month, a millipede expert in Denmark received an email notifying him that one of his publications had been mentioned in a new manuscript on Preprints.org. But when the researcher, Henrik Enghoff, downloaded the paper, he learned that it cited his work for something off-topic. Stranger still, the authors of the now-withdrawn preprint, a group … Continue reading Publisher blacklists authors after preprint cites made-up studies  ( 8 min )

At a news conference in Tokyo today there evidently were various announcements made about IUT, the most dramatic of which was a 140 million yen (roughly one million dollar) prize for a paper showing a flaw in the claimed proof … Continue reading →  ( 7 min )

This is more of an advertisement than a blog post. This evening on the arXiv James Arthur has posted a wonderful 204 page document explaining the work of Robert Langlands, written in conjunction with the award of the Abel Prize … Continue reading →  ( 6 min )

Charles Barber’s “In the Blood” is the improbable tale of how a mechanical engineer working in his basement developed a means to stanch battleground bleeding by making blood clot in the right spot. The discovery pitted him against the U.S. Army, which was experimenting with its own innovative techniques.  ( 14 min )

This AI system only needs a small amount of data to predict molecular properties, which could speed up drug discovery and material development.  ( 9 min )

No content preview  ( 1 min )

Earlier this year, two data scientists from Jumping Rivers ran an outreach activity for 14-19 year olds across the UK, in collaboration with the youth charity Speakers for Schools. Continue reading: Changing the world with Data: An outreach event  ( 10 min )

Andy Thomason, code performance consultant and lecturer at the University of London covering programming, physics and AI courses focused on game development, created an open source project to add Rust’s... Continue reading: R Consortium Funded Project Extendr Provides Rust Extensions for R  ( 14 min )

After serving as chair of the board for the R Consortium and being involved in multiple R Consortium committees both on the technical and community development sides, as well as... Continue reading: Change in R Consortium Leadership – Thank you, Joseph Rickert!  ( 8 min )

Join our workshop on Using Spatial Data with R Shiny, which is a part of our workshops for Ukraine series!  Here’s some more info:  Title: Using Spatial Data with R Shiny Date: Thursday, August 3rd, 18:00 – 20:00 CEST (Rome, Berlin, Paris timezone) Speaker: Michael C. Rubin, is an Engineer, MIT Data ... Continue reading: Using Spatial Data with R Shiny workshop  ( 11 min )

To be successful as a Data Scientist, you’re often put in positions where you need to find groups within your data. One key business use-case is finding clusters of customers that behave similarly. And that’s a powerful skill that I’m going to help you... Continue reading: A Gentle Introduction to K-Means Clustering in R (Feat. Tidyclust)  ( 19 min )

A brief tutorial on the easiest - albeit limited - way to theme Shiny apps using CSS tags. Should be enough for most apps; also works if you need to make ad-hoc changes to a premade (e.g. corporate) theme used in your app. Continue reading: An Easy Way to Customize Your Shiny App Theme  ( 11 min )

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Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

This stucco and stone exterior feels visually out of place with its colonial surroundings in Panama City's historic Casco Viejo neighborhood. The reason for this is that the church is actually from the much older city of Panama Viejo, and was transported from its ruins. Located 12 kilometers away from Panama's historic city center, Panama Viejo is the oldest city established by European settlers in North America, dating back to 1519. Panama Viejo was destroyed in 1671 during an attack led by the Welsh privateer Henry Morgan. The population elected to move to the peninsula—the site of the present-day Casco Viejo—to be better fortified from attack. La Iglesia de la Merced was built in the early 1600s by Franciscan monks. They transported the church brick-by-brick to the new location (until they ran out of funds) and completed the project with wood. The first mass was offered on the day of Panama City's inauguration in 1673. Unlike other colonial churches, the interior is upheld by a wooden ceiling and the mixture of surfaces is an architectural delight. Additionally, the site is known for its mosaic work, which lines the address along the sidewalk. This dates back to 1732. The church also boasts the statue of 13th-century saint Maria de la Cervello. After she had died, she would sail on the wings of the wind to rescue ships who were at risk of shipwreck.  ( 13 min )

About a mile from Walt Whitman's birthplace is Jayne's Hill, located in West Hills County Park in West Hills, Long Island. Although Whitman only lived in the house where was he born for the first four years of his life, he frequently returned to the area, where his family had roots for more than a century. On his visits, he enjoyed wandering the grounds of what is now the park, climbing up to what is the highest peak on Long Island—at a whopping 400 feet in elevation. (Hey, nobody said Long Island was known for its hills.) Nowadays, the top is marked by a sturdy rock emblazoned with Whitman's poem, "Paumanok," the Algonquian name for Long Island. At its base, you can also usually find an assortment of smaller painted rocks left by fellow travelers on the trail.  ( 13 min )

Literally in the middle of the woods, you come across this tiny bookstore just off a road that overlooks Acadia National Park. Contained in a tiny shack, you walk in to see shelves filled with books and simply leave your payment in a tin on the table. It was created by Bill Henderson, the founder of independent publisher Pushcart Press,  who dubbed the Sedgwick, Maine, outpost "the World's Smallest Bookstore."  ( 12 min )

The death penalty is outlawed in most of the world these days, and has been for so long that many people can't remember the times when it was not. In Sweden, this was 1862. The gallow hill was the main punishment site of Stockholm, dating back to sometime in the 17th century. (Before that there was another site.) It is about an hour's walk away from the city center and back in the day death row prisoners would walk from their cells to the hill. Once there they would get a last drink at a local bar and then it would be time.  The gallows were disassembled after the death penalty was repealed but the site was never forgotten. It got renewed notoriety in the 1930s when the area was being developed for housing and skeletons were found in the area.  The site was then declared a national monument and marked off with some stones. Unfortunately, there is nothing else there to see apart from the sign pointing you to the history of the area.  ( 12 min )

Years ago, in a bombed-out museum in La Plata, Argentina, I was offered yerba mate by a complete stranger. A winter chill whistled through the front wall left exposed by a tank, whilst a woman continued to warm water into her mate and offer it to those in the room. The hot burst of bitter liquid drew an invisible line connecting everyone in that gray, somber space. Mate is a caffeinated, tea-like infusion made from the dried leaves of the yerba mate plant. Often drunk hot, mate has an intense, earthy taste—think grass, smoke, and soil. The practice of drinking from a shared straw in ronda (in a circle) has been bringing people in Argentina together for centuries. First introduced to the Jesuits by the indigenous Guaraní people during the colonial period, mate has been part of Argentina…  ( 21 min )

Gandantegchinlen, or Gandan as locals and visitors alike refer to it, was once one of the only permanent buildings in this city of tent-dwelling nomads. It served as the main Buddhist temple here until the communist era when religion was suppressed and most Buddhist temples in Mongolia were destroyed. The monastery was originally established in the early 19th century outside of Khüree (now known as  Ulaanbaatar). Its name translates as ”the great place of complete joy.” The monastery complex is made up of a number of shrines, temples, and assembly halls. Gandan was closed in 1939 during the anti-religious persecutions in Mongolia, and many of its buildings were razed. In 1944, the monastery was reopened, and for nearly 50 years it was the only active monastery in the country. Since the 1990s, Gandan has been rehabilitated in stature and reopened to worshippers. After much recent renovation, it is worth visiting to experience the current role of Buddhism in Mongolia. The addition of the Batsagaan Grand Assembly Hall adjacent to the main temple adds to the grandeur of the complex. Inside the main temple stands Avalokitesvara, the tallest indoor standing Buddha statue in the world at 26 meters (85 feet). Walk clockwise to see the hundreds of smaller statues that surround the temple interior.  ( 12 min )

You may have heard about the Normandy American Cemetery in France, where 9,388 U.S. soldiers are buried for their sacrifice to help liberate France. But in Virginia, at the battle site of the Siege of Yorktown (1781), there is a grave of some 50 French soldiers who lost their lives in that fight that resulted in the independence of the United States. Around 8,000 French soldiers joined the colonial soldiers fighting in Virginia, and along with 29 French warships, were able to lay siege to Cornwallis's British troops and force a victory. While the 50 French soldiers buried include those who fell during the siege attacks, this also includes many who died from malaria and other diseases.  ( 12 min )

The Beatles is one of the biggest bands of all time and we are all familiar with their classic hits such as "She Loves You," "I Want To Hold Your Hand," and "Can't Buy Me Love." Today, it's hard to imagine there was a time before the Fab Four were rich and famous. However, in 1960, the lads were still mediocre, unknown teen performers struggling to get gigs in their hometown of Liverpool. So when offered a residency at a small club in Hamburg's red light district, they decided to try their luck. Life for the mop tops in the German port city was wild and crazy, but far from glamorous. They slept in cramped, smelly storerooms and had to play for hours and hours on end for peanuts. The long and grueling sets gave the young Liverpudlians the experience and the professional skills they needed though. When returning home to England in 1962, the beginner musicians had transformed into accomplished soon-to-be pop stars—or as John Lennon once famously said: "I might have been born in Liverpool, but I grew up in Hamburg" Beatles-Platz opened in 2008 and celebrates the fact that Hamburg was the Fab Four's springboard to global stardom. The small square is shaped like a vinyl record with a diameter of 29 meters (95 feet). Famous Beatles song titles are engraved in the stonework and the place is adorned with life-sized, metal silhouettes (which almost look like giant cookie cutters) of the members. The plaza is located at the crossroads of the Reeperbahn boulevard and the Grosse Freiheit side street in Hamburg's seedy St. Pauli area—just a few steps from the venues where John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr once got their start.  ( 13 min )

Just after dawn, Amtrak’s Empire Builder passenger train pulls into the station at Whitefish, Montana, as it does every day on its cross-country journey from Seattle to Chicago. The train usually consists of two locomotives and a string of utilitarian passenger cars. But on this morning, two of the cars, directly behind the locomotives, disrupt that familiar conformity. Unlike the regular Amtrak cars, these ones look just like they did decades ago: One is polished stainless steel and the other a rich brown and orange with yellow stripes. The passenger cars, named “Blue Ridge Club” and “Pacific Home,” were built decades before the others, in an era when rail cars still got names instead of numbers. They are among a few dozen privately owned vintage cars that still ply the rails, offering …  ( 24 min )

Situated in the heart of Australia's Pilbara region at the mouth of the Harding River is the small historic town of Cossack. This once-abandoned area is steeped in history and in recent years the town's buildings have been restored to allow visitors to step back in time. The history first started with the Ngarluma people, the local Aboriginal people who occupied the land for hunting and fishing for thousands of years. In 1863, a British-born Australian pioneer named Walter Padbury landed his ship, Tien Tsin, near Cossack. Over the next few eyars, many others followed to settle was the first port in northern West Australia. The area was initially used for pastoral farming which led to the development of infrastructure. Cossack was one of the key sites for the booming pearling industry across the region in the 1800s. Historic records indicate that in the early 1870s, there were up to 80 pear luggers operating in the region. This led to an influx of Japanese, Chinese, and Malay people who migrated to work in the arduous conditions of the industry. The following years saw many workers and ships involved in pearling move to Broome and alongside the decline of the gold rush, this led to the population of Cossack rapidly declining. In the 1940s, the last residents left, leaving the stone buildings to fall into a state of disrepair. In 2007, a decision was made to restore the buildings to their former glory, and the town is now a designated museum town. Visitors can walk around and venture inside the restored structures, including the bakehouse, the courthouse, and the historic post office.  ( 12 min )

Vella bonuses are still a thing for new contributors Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 15 min )

Create your dream life simply by journaling Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 15 min )

How to best leverage professionals to write and self-publish a novel readers will fall in love with Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 17 min )

BioAutoMATED, an open-source, automated machine-learning platform, aims to help democratize artificial intelligence for research labs.  ( 8 min )

From the movie "Jak rozpętałem drugą wojnę światową" (How I Unleashed World War II): The initial Q&A: Your browser does not support the audio element. Q: Name und Vorname? A: Grzegorz Brzęczyszczykiewicz. Waveform, spectrogram, F0 track: Just the answer: Your browser does not support the audio element. "Birthplace" Q&A, at the end of the scene: […]  ( 7 min )

Over the last three years, I have seen first-hand Taiwan’s rich diversity and resilience and experienced the warmth, friendship, support and hospitality of the Taiwanese people. As I prepare to return to my hometown #Melbourne in the coming weeks, see my message in Taiwanese: pic.twitter.com/oSZ1hKp6Jx — Jenny Bloomfield (@AusOfficeTPE) July 4, 2023 With subtitles in […]  ( 7 min )

The next-most-recent xkcd: Mouseover title: "Slowly progressing from 'how do protons behave in relativistic collisions?' to 'what the heck are protons even doing when they're just sitting there?'" This progression accords with most of my professional experience — for one example, see my 2018 paper "Towards Progress in Theories of Language Sound Structure", in Brentari […]  ( 9 min )

If you want to go the extra mile and make unagi sauce at home, the process can be quite simple. In the spirit of a more “traditional” method, this recipe utilizes a base of dashi, which adds umami and depth to an otherwise heavy-handed sauce.  ( 13 min )

It heats up quickly, runs quietly, and has a sleek, compact design that’s easy to use.  ( 12 min )

Also rates traders, Celsius investigations, Tom Brady’s interest in crypto and streaming slot machines.  ( 2 min )

1. A critical history of the AI safety movement. 2. Richard Hanania on class-based affirmative action. 3. James J. Lee comment on the new Greg Clark results. 4. Emily Wilson on different Iliad translations, and her new one (NYT). 5. What happened to the global corporate tax rate deal? 6. People who make money running […] The post Thursday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Justin Chang. Raise $4 billion in endowment funds ... by Cancelled for wongthink In reply to Harvey Bungus. Here's a concept: Our elites ... by Hazel Meade In reply to Guled. Aren't you getting him mixed up with Steve ... by Hazel Meade In reply to Tom Meadowcroft. “Does less well than a ... by Hazel Meade In reply to Hazel Meade. Also define “failure”. There's a ... by Hazel Meade Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

Inflation targets are not supposed to be mere fair weather friends. They serve at all times to reduce arbitrary and undemocratic redistributions of income and wealth and stealthy forms of “hidden” taxation, all of which monarchs, despots, autocrats and, yes, democratically elected governments have, via the printing press, exploited. While there’s nothing wrong with debating […] The post Stephen King on inflation targets appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments How much of this talk about revisiting the target is based upon ... by Reason In reply to asdf. Totally agree. Not indexing basis prices is ... by Reason Inflation is below target in China and cooling rapidly in most ... by Benjamin Cole the Tin-Foil Hat Economist In reply to Rahul. Because gold is a commodity, and ... by Heedless In reply to rayward. this comment reminds me of the first ... by Neurotic Plus 10 more... Related Stories Canada is Poaching US Talent! Los Alamos From Below The new Austrian business cycle theory  ( 6 min )

One day after a Louisiana federal judge set limits on the Biden administration’s communications with tech firms, the State Department canceled its regular meeting Wednesday with Facebook officials to discuss 2024 election preparations and hacking threats, according to a person at the company. The move came hours before Biden’s Department of Justice filed a notice that it […] The post Louisiana federal judge says “hands off” appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to JWatts. As a litigator would say, Assumes facts ... by Bill In reply to Tom T.. And the Germans once killed the Jews. ... by Bill In reply to Moral Panic. No one is pursuing anybody. Wake ... by Bill In reply to MT. Not really much gymnastics to be done … ... by MikeP In reply to notRover. The BBC identifies itself as the ... by Bill Plus 10 more...  ( 7 min )

That is the new Patrick J. Deneen book, with the subtitle Toward a Postliberal Future.  I would say that reading and trying to review this book most of all raises the question of what a review is for.  As you might expect from Deneen, the book is well-written and comes across as highly intelligent.  The […] The post *Regime Change* appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Deneen is clearly a very smart guy. But he's letting all the ... by steve In reply to Phinton. We are not fighting a war in Ukraine. ... by Technical note The invocation of Bryan Caplan to attack Patrick Deneen seems ... by guizot In reply to Jsb (Andreas). I think the Ukraine war will end ... by Phinton In reply to peri. Sounds pretty libertarian to me. Remove ... by Andao Plus 10 more...  ( 8 min )

So what do you all think?  My Instagram account is tylercowenfairfax, with a photo of Spinoza the dog as my icon.  Is that the information you need to follow me on Threads? Addendum: Don’t forget the fediverse! The post Threads, from Meta appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Switch to Threads if you prefer Zuck's more censorship-friendly ... by chrisare I don't know what it takes to create or run a social media ... by Jack In reply to Crusader. “as well as the question of do we ... by S. Byerley In reply to Himself. “In other words Elon turned it into a ... by S. Byerley ,The Fediverse. by Anti-Gnostic Plus 10 more... Related Stories Questions that are rarely asked People Hire Phone Bots to Torture Telemarketers My excellent Conversation with Reid Hoffman  ( 6 min )

So what do you all think?  My Instagram account is tylercowenfairfax, with a photo of Spinoza the dog as my icon.  Is that the information you need to follow me on Threads? The post Threads appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments i'd also need to know what the hell threads is by HM Related Stories Questions that are rarely asked People Hire Phone Bots to Torture Telemarketers My excellent Conversation with Reid Hoffman  ( 6 min )

Plus: Twin Cities metro growing more diverse; UnitedHealthcare offering telehealth at no cost; Grand Marais land tied to FLDS' Warren Jeffs up for sale; and more.  ( 7 min )

“You could tell that every patient he came into the room with, they knew him. Even though he was seeing 80-plus patients a day, he knew the context of the life that he was treating just by being their dermatologist.”  ( 14 min )

Coupled with all the high-rise construction the past decade in Downtown East and up and down Washington Avenue, Charlie Rybak envisions a growing readership for Downtown Voices.  ( 18 min )

Yes. The Minneapolis City Council unanimously passed a resolution officially recognizing drag performances and cultures as a form of free speech.  ( 7 min )

Yes. U.S. Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Sonia Sotomayor have been the subjects of assassination plots.  ( 7 min )

Public health authorities and major dairy industry groups oppose the practice, saying such milk can be tainted with dangerous bacteria, including E. coli, salmonella, and listeria.  ( 22 min )

Plus: channeling Tina Turner in Dakota show; honoring the life and work of the late Jim Denomie; and music at 7th Street Entry.  ( 14 min )

The state's health standard for nitrates in drinking water is 10 mg/L. Many wells exceed this level, but the state does not test nor does it oversee water quality of private drinking water wells.  ( 12 min )

Plus: Golden Valley's former interim police chief sues the city; spruce budworms in Cook County lay waste to hundreds of thousands of acres of balsam fir trees; fire from fireworks damages boats and part of the dock on Lake Minnetonka; and more.  ( 8 min )

The Biden administration has approved a third big offshore wind project, this one near the Atlantic City gambling hub, expanding power capacity and jobs

Summer heat is increasingly breaking records as the climate warms. As we describe in our roundup, heat can be deadly. Make sure that you take extra precautions to stay cool

When looking for life in space, we should broaden our horizons

The Supreme Court’s actions on affirmative action are a setback to justice and equality in the U.S.

Discussions of dinosaur brainpower spark larger questions around the nature of intelligence

Stanley Presser sends along this article, “The Role of Doubt in Conceiving Research.” Presser has taught for many years at the University of Maryland but not when I was a student there, also he teaches sociology and I’ve never taken … Continue reading →  ( 15 min )

[A post for all readers.] NASA describes the space-based Webb telescope, the next step beyond the Hubble space telescope, as “a powerful time machine with infrared vision that is peering back over 13.5 billion years to see the first stars and galaxies forming out of the darkness of the early universe.“ Well, how does that ... Read more

Can we get a handle on agent-based models using ideas from category theory?  ( 4 min )

I’m working with Nate Osgood and other folks to develop better modeling tools for epidemiologists. Right now we’re trying to develop a category-based framework for agent-based models. It’s a bit tough since many different techniques are used in such models, without yet an overarching discipline—Nate likened it to the ‘wild West’. I have a lot […]  ( 9 min )

Can we get a handle on agent-based models using ideas from category theory?  ( 4 min )

I’m working with Nate Osgood and other folks to develop better modeling tools for epidemiologists. Right now we’re trying to develop a category-based framework for agent-based models. It’s a bit tough since many different techniques are used in such models, without yet an overarching discipline—Nate likened it to the ‘wild West’. I have a lot […]  ( 9 min )

The dislocation and destruction wrought by the pandemic have touched the lives of people everywhere. The years of isolation, fear, uncertainty, and pain have changed us. But is this trauma? Although researchers have worked to define the term for more than a century, science offers no definitive answers.  ( 15 min )

An Egyptian patriot relates the tale of the fall of Cleopatra.  ( 2 min )

The University of Chicago Press has declared Made in America the free e-book for July, 2023. Here is the link:  https://press.uchicago.edu/books/freeEbook.html  — good, I guess, through July 31.  ( 11 min )

Despite the panic over AI we're seeing in many sectors of society, including academia, the juggernaut rolls on, seeming set to crush everything in its way: "EU gives more power to AI translation machines" The European Commission has launched a pilot project to translate some press releases without any human oversight. POLITICO (6/15/23) First paragraphs: […]  ( 8 min )

Ilia Shumailov et al., "The Curse of Recursion: Training on Generated Data Makes Models Forget", 5/31/2023: What will happen to GPT-{n} once LLMs contribute much of the language found online? We find that use of model-generated content in training causes irreversible defects in the resulting models, where tails of the original content distribution disappear. We […]  ( 10 min )

Last year, I expressed considerable skepticism about the prospects for accurate detection of text generated by Large Language Models ("Detecting LLM-created essays?", 12/20/2022). Since then, many new systems claiming to detect LLM outputs have emerged, notably Turnitin's "AI writing detector". In a recent post on AI Weirdness ("Don't use AI detectors for anything important", 6/30/2023), […]  ( 8 min )

"Alligator Kills 69-Year-Old Woman in South Carolina", NYT 7/4/2023: A 69-year-old woman was attacked and killed by an alligator on Tuesday as she was walking her dog in her neighborhood in Hilton Head Island, S.C., the authorities said. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said it was the second fatal alligator attack in the county in […]  ( 8 min )

As I have demonstrated here, communism is still very much a thing in North Korea, and apparently under the leadership of Kim Jung Un increasingly more so. Now, the word for "communism" in the Korean of South Korea is gongsanjuui 공산주의 (共産主義), which simply adopts the Chinese gòngchǎn zhǔyì 共産主義. Since that usage goes against […]  ( 11 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

This Miami cemetery holds the remains of two Cuban presidents, a Nicaraguan president, and the senior Desi Arnaz. And it was once the resting place of the crown prince of Spain. The Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Cemetery in Miami holds a who’s who of Miami royalty, like the Merricks and the Brickells, founders of Coral Gables and the University of Miami, and creators of Brickell Avenue, respectively.    Also lying beneath the cemetery’s manicured lawns and blindingly white mausoleums is a less expected group of notables, Latin American presidents. Geraldo Machado was president of Cuba from 1925 to 1933. During his administration most of Havana’s signature spectacular structures were built; the Hotel Nacional, Centro Asturiano, and the Bacardi Building. The victim of a coup during his second …  ( 14 min )

Pi is an irrational number with an infinite amount of decimals. While 3.14 is good enough for high school students and most engineers often use 4.0 just to be sure, there are actually a lot of uses for the rest of the decimals, primarily in cryptography. These days we know pi down to tens of trillions of decimals, but not too long ago calculating a few dozen could literally take a lifetime.  Many people in history spent years of their lives calculating a few decimals of pi, using a method where a circle can be approximated by a many-sided polygon that can have millions of sides, becoming closer to closer to a circle. The last person to use this method is the 16th-century mathematician Ludulph van Ceulen who spent 25 years working on the problem, coming up with a polygon that had 0.5 billion sides and calculating its circumference to calculate pi to within 20 decimals and later expanding to 35. This number was considered his life's work and gave him great renown, especially because this level of detail was more than enough for any practical use. The number is also dubbed the Ludolphine number in his honor. 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288 Not long after this, in 1666, Isaac Newton found a new method of calculating pi that can be done in arbitrary precision, making the old method that Van Ceulen used obsolete. Fortunately, he did not live to see this. After his death in 1610, this number was placed on his grave in the Pieterskerk in Leiden. The gravestone was lost over the years but restored in 2000. The monument can still be seen today, bearing the following roughly translated text: "Here lies buried Mr. Ludolph van Ceulen, professor in mathematics. Born on the 28th of January 1540, died on the 31st of December 1610. During his life, with lots of effort, he found that with a diameter of 1, the circumference is between 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288 and 3.14159265358979323846264338327950289"  ( 13 min )

The Tanglin Brunei Hostel or Asrama Kerajaan Brunei di Singapura (AKBS), although largely unknown even to most locals, has a rich history as a residence for Bruneian students studying in Singapore. The hostel, now in a dilapidated state, was built in 1958 to accommodate the increasing number of students from Brunei that were sent for schooling abroad. This was common in the 1950s as Brunei was facing economic struggles and difficulties in setting up its own former education system. Initially, only students from the Islamic stream were sent to Singapore, but later, English and Malay stream students also joined.  The hostel provided facilities such as meals, laundry, textbooks, and allowances for the students it housed, making their lives convenient during their life abroad. For many, it w…  ( 13 min )

The Milwaukee folk punk band Nineteen Thirteen has showcased the talents of various musicians over the years, from cellist Janet Schiff to drummer Victor DeLorenzo, a founding member of the chart-topping, Milwaukee-based Violent Femmes. Recently, though, the band featured a guest musician playing a lesser-known instrument—the typewriter. “This was my first time playing the typewriter as a musical instrument, but hopefully not the last,” says poet Monica Thomas, who provided backup to Renee Bebeau’s percussion while typing a local news story on a vintage Remington, made in—you guessed it—1913. “I heard there’s a group in Madison organizing a typewriter orchestra, so there’s hope for next year.” If you’ve never heard of a typewriter orchestra, that’s probably just the tip of the substant…  ( 26 min )

Camels, samovars, sewing machines, prayer beads, guns, cars, snakes, camels and fruits. What do these have in common? Fifty kilometers from Baku, hidden from the public eye, lies a mysterious place called Sofi Hamid. And this is the place where you will see all kinds of images from nature and daily life. If you would land there by helicopter, you would wonder: who was buried here? What do those symbols, images, and bright colors mean? Adding to this confusion, you would soon discover that the writings on the graves are in Arabic, Latin, and Cyrillic scripts.  That's why Sofi Hamid Cemetery will tell you more about the history of Azerbaijan than any museum or history book. Functioning as a cemetery since the 18th century, the stylistic approach and writings on the graves will narrate the …  ( 13 min )

A fascinating piece of gothic artwork sits just feet off the road in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. This functional fountain was originally specifically for horses to drink from. The more interesting and gothic feature of the fountain is that the spout is coming out of a gargoyle’s mouth. Spring water running off the hillside flows by gravity through the gargoyle’s mouth and is used to refresh many horses that took the time to stop and take a drink. Standing outside of what is now the Black Rock Brewpub, the gargoyle fountain still watches as many people pass by in automobiles. Standing at nine feet tall, this work of art was restored by the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority in memory of local educator Howard S. Fernsler, according to the base of the fountain. The fountain was restored in 2020, but does not appear to be working at the moment.  ( 12 min )

The main building of the University of Pune (now Savitribai Phule Pune University) used to be, once upon a time, the monsoon residence of the Governor of Bombay (now Mumbai) during the British era. Due to the weather conditions, Mumbai used to be the winter residence, Pune was the monsoon residence and Mahabaleshwar was the summer residence. The Governor, while shifting from Mumbai to Pune for the monsoon, used to bring along the entire entourage which consisted of staff, furniture, utensils, food, and other paraphernalia.  A short distance away from the main building (which was the Governor’s Bungalow), was the kitchen. Today, the building where the kitchen used to be, is called Potdar Sankul.  From the kitchen to the main building, there exists an underground tunnel. This 300-foot-long tunnel was used by the staff and servants to transport food from the kitchen to the dining room in the main building. Along the length of the tunnel run pipes for hot water and cold water. At the end of the tunnel is a wooden staircase that goes up into the main building. At the base of the stairs is a pantry, where expensive cutlery was kept. Next to the pantry, under the stairs, is a room where the butler used to sleep. Along the tunnel’s ceiling, at regular intervals, are openings for ventilation.  The main building was built between 1864 to 1871 and the tunnel was built during the same period. The tunnel was nonoperational for many years. Recently, it has been refurbished, whitewashed, and lit with retro-style lightbulbs.  The tunnel is accessible to the public by means of a guided heritage walk conducted by the university authorities.  ( 13 min )

In 1958, the artist B.C. Binning was commissioned by the Imperial Bank of Commerce to create a tile mosaic mural for the lobby of a new office tower on the corner of Granville and Dunsmuir in Vancouver. The lobby has now been incorporated into a modern drug store, but thankfully the mural was saved. Take the stairs to the second floor of the store and you will come face to face with a spectacular tile mosaic that portrays Vancouver's booming resource economy at the time. Binning was one of Canada's foremost modern artists and architectural innovators. His brightly-colored, semi-abstract paintings and sculptures were influenced by artists like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. This mosaic mural is made up of more than 200,000 pieces of Venetian glass, covering an enormous wall. Eve Lazarus, author of Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History,  provides an excellent overview of the history of the mural and a visual key to help interpret the different sections.  ( 12 min )

In the early 1910s, the Pittsburgh Limestone Company built its workers homes in lieu of creating a union. Since they took the deal, they were labeled as "Yellow Dogs" by pro-union workers. Rather than chafe at the idea, the workers decided to adopt the name and called the town Yellow Dog Village. When the mine shut down in the early 1950s, many workers left to find work elsewhere, but many people stayed as the mine was repurposed into the world's largest mushroom mine. The town remained habited until the early 2000s when people started to get sick. In 2012, the residents were forced to leave when E. coli was found in the drinking water. It remained abandoned for a few years until a history teacher bought the property with plans of renovating the town into a living history museum. Unfortunately, those plans never came to fruition and the town was repurchased in mid-2022. Today, while the village remains semi-abandoned, the new owners allow tours and host open houses for a small fee. They plan on renovating a few of the houses for overnight purposes, and are allowing guests to revisit the history of this special place so many once called home.  ( 12 min )

It’s in Australia and it’s by the side of the road, yes another of Australia’s Big Things. Nothing to do with the village it’s situated in, the rural hill country road inland between Sydney and Brisbane on the New England Highway, named for the British mother country rather than the U.S. version. This old dinosaur was built in 1998 for a local fruit festival to draw in the punters, but was kept after and erected outside the railway station. It’s now one of the tick off on your bucket list of things to do on an Australian road trip.  ( 12 min )

Atlas Obscura’s Wondersky columnist Rebecca Boyle is an award-winning science journalist and author of the upcoming Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are (January 2024, Random House). Throughout the summer, she’ll be sharing the stories and secrets of our wondrous night sky. Sitting outside late at night, even after most people are asleep, provides a sense of togetherness like few other things I know. I have never been lonely in the darkness or afraid of the night; I have loved the stars too fondly, as the poem says. Each twinkling star is a sun setting on some distant planet. Each planet is a world unto itself. Each nebula is a nursery for stars—or their graveyard. And sometimes, among all of it, we can catch a glimp…  ( 19 min )

The history of this remote and uncrowded place is fascinating. The land knowns as the Great Dismal Swamp covers more than 2,000 square miles over parts of Virginia and North Carolina. It's the last remaining piece of a larger landscape that once spread across more than 1 million acres. It's home to large swaths of important plant and animal habitats. It's a National Wildlife Refuge, it's a North Carolina State Park, and it was part of the route for the Underground Railroad. Prior to the American Civil War, thousands of people who had escaped slavery made the Great Dismal Swamp their hidden fortress of freedom. Known as "maroons," these freedom seekers made the swamp their home, if they weren't passing through to the northern states. Many of the maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp were enslaved people of African descent, but also among them were many Native Americans seeking escape from colonial expansion into their land. Some lived there for over 30 years, free from oppression.  ( 13 min )

Kubur Kassim graveyard dates back to the early 19th century and has served as a burial ground for generations of Muslims in Singapore. The cemetery has witnessed the interment of individuals from various backgrounds, including early settlers, pioneers, and notable figures from the Muslim community. The graveyard is a serene and solemn place, marked by rows of simple gravestones adorned with traditional Islamic inscriptions. The vegetation is also very flourishing and wild there, with big trees all around. However, it is worth noting that the Kubur Kassim Cemetery also carries intriguing legends and superstitions that have captured the imagination of many. Situated in the neighborhood of Siglap, which translates to "dark one" in Malay, the cemetery has acquired a reputation for mysterious occurrences. It is said that the area earned its name after a peculiar eclipse event that took place in 1821. These tales have contributed to the cemetery's allure and the prevalence of ghost stories and urban legends associated with it. Legends persist of supernatural beings haunting the grounds, such as the Pocong and Pontianak. The cemetery's mystical ambiance supposedly even inspired the 1957 Malay film Pontianak, with some scenes shot in nearby areas. What makes the Kubur Kassim Cemetery even more intriguing are the tales surrounding the Orang Bunian, mythological humanoid beings believed to dwell hidden from human sight. According to local lore, dedicated tombs honoring the Orang Bunian are said to exist within the cemetery, awaiting those with a keen eye and patient exploration. These legends and stories add an extra layer of fascination to the historical and cultural significance of the Kubur Kassim graveyard. It continues to be a site where the past converges with myth, capturing the imagination and curiosity of those who venture into its hallowed grounds.  ( 12 min )

Gregory Natural Bridge is a natural sandstone bridge in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area that was covered by Lake Powell filling up since Glen Canyon Dam's completion in 1966. The 137-foot arch was last seen in 1969 but has recently resurfaced with declining lake levels. Lake Powell hit its lowest water level in 2023 since being filled in 1980. The declining water levels have revealed other hidden treasures like Cathedral in the Desert. The arch was formed by thousands of years of erosion. Erosion causes certain sections of the sandstone to become more vulnerable to weathering, while others remain relatively intact. As water seeps into cracks and freezes in cold climates, the rock expands and leads to the widening of gaps and fractures. Eventually, an arch-shaped opening is formed.  ( 12 min )

When the sun slides out of sight—or, more accurately, when Earth rotates so that your particular place on the planet is no longer exposed to our day star—but before darkness consumes the landscape, there is the magical, muted time of twilight. The word comes to us from the Old English twyelyghte, or half-light, when the vivid colors of the day fade to a shadow palette of grays. Of course, the colors don’t change, but our ability to discern them does. Most animal eyes have a mix of rods and cones, light-sensitive cells that provide information to the brain about either light (rods) or color (cones). The bespoke blend for each species depends on its particular niche in the ecosystem: Nocturnal animals, such as owls, have a significantly higher ratio of rods to cones in their retinas to mak…  ( 18 min )

And similar similes to smile about Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 16 min )

Unlock the deceptively difficult art of capturing a moment in time Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 18 min )

For the most refreshing and flavorful strawberry lemonade, macerate your fruit and lemon zest.  ( 13 min )

We compiled all the gear you need for home espresso, including an espresso machine, grinder, knockbox, tamper, and more.  ( 21 min )

We used the extra-large smoker to cook a variety of meats, evaluating its performance, usability, and app design.  ( 17 min )

A scientist claims elephants’ cancer-preventing genes may have evolved to protect their sperm from the scorching hot habitats the pachyderms’ live in

Early warning about impending weather disasters is almost impossible across large, low-income regions of the world

Hormone mimics offer advantages even beyond those of the potent weight-loss shots on the market now

A new misinformation quiz shows that, despite the stereotype, younger Americans have a harder time discerning fake headlines, compared with older generations

An adorable seabird courtship ritual shows the meaning of love: fish

When sleep feels elusive, getting out of bed can calm your mind and help you avoid bad sleep habits

A leading medical society says that the commonly used body mass index falls short, and it is time for alternative measures

Tiny spheres of once-molten metal magnetically dredged from the seafloor could be pieces from IM1, a potential interstellar meteor that struck Earth in 2014

Scientists are beginning to understand what kind of thunderstorm produces so-called megaflashes of lightning that stretch more than 60 miles

The famous climate pattern El Niño could usher in a new hottest year on record and will have domino effects on the world’s weather.

The co-editors in chief and most editorial board members of the journal Critical Public Health have resigned their roles to start a new, independent journal, citing differences with their publisher, Taylor & Francis.  “While there are inevitable tensions for a critically oriented scholarly journal that is also a commodity marketed by a commercial publisher, over … Continue reading Editors of public health journal resign over differences with publisher  ( 8 min )

A gastroenterology researcher has sued a scientific journal to stop it from publishing an expression of concern for one of her papers.  Soudamani Singh, an assistant professor in the Department of Clinical and Translational Sciences at Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine in Huntington, W. Va., is the middle author of “Cyclooxygenase pathway … Continue reading Scientist sues publisher to block expression of concern  ( 9 min )

Also CEO pay, APEs, WANdisco, Bridgewater robots, robot lawyers, Metro-North insider trading and Justin Bieber’s Bored Ape.  ( 2 min )

The R Validation Hub recently had its community meeting after a brief hiatus. The team discussed announcements, common challenges, and brainstormed ideas for possible future projects through the R Validation... Continue reading: R Validation Hub Community Meeting – June Recap ↺  ( 10 min )

In Continue reading: Fast expansion of a polynomial with R – part 2  ( 10 min )

Plus: ransomware attack leaked sexual assault files of Minneapolis students; bodies of three swimmers recovered; Target will extend downtown hours; and more.  ( 7 min )

The moratorium has led to complicated questions about burials and cemeteries. It has also raised eyebrows among Jewish and Muslim leaders because burials in their faiths could be impacted by the law.  ( 36 min )

We are in danger of having fewer and fewer students attending fewer and fewer colleges, returning us back to the elitist days when only a few could attend.  ( 16 min )

From galleries to outdoor plays surrounded by woodland creatures, Door County is bursting with art, theater, and a strong sense of community.  ( 22 min )

While state lawmakers did not adopt a total ban, the father of Amir Locke says, "Everything has to start somewhere."  ( 15 min )

The first FDA-authorized cigarettes with 95% less nicotine than traditional smokes are coming to California, Florida, and Texas in early July, after a year of test-marketing in Illinois and Colorado.  ( 15 min )

Plus: former gymnastics coach faces long sentence; THC beverages legal in North Mankato; two injured in Minneapolis light rail shooting; and more.  ( 6 min )

Married couples filing a joint return put the male name first 88.1% of the time in tax year 2020, down from 97.3% in 1996. The man’s name is more likely to go first the larger is the fraction of the couple’s allocable income that goes to him, and the older is the couple. Based on […] The post The order of spousal names on tax returns appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments I work as a CPA doing tax work, many many 1040s. Agreed over ... by CPA tax cnn meme zombie satire/not satire ... by cornpopscrustyrazor In reply to JWatts. Tax-economies can create nonindigenous ... by Equestrian In reply to Turpentine. So, the paper is only half bad? by skyzyks In reply to Bob from Ohio. Also, 88% are tax non-compliant. by Tom T. Plus 10 more... Related Stories Nigeria reform of the day (again) Privacy-invading horse nationalism (ask and ye shall receive) GRE scores by university major  ( 6 min )

1. “…in contrast to funding agencies—scientists systematically prefer to fund projects with more reviewer dissensus. Rather than purely focusing on the first moment of the distribution of reviewer scores, they also value the second moment. Further, scientists with the greatest domain expertise on a proposal are more enthusiastic about dissensus, and while appetite for dissensus […] The post Wednesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments “4. Wesley Clair Mitchell predicting the future of economic ... by mkt42 In reply to Formerly K. Sumner is right about Michael ... by PaulD 7 some body should call ralph unsafe at any speed nadir ... by Bill In reply to Brett. Flying cars is so yesterday. I want ... by surfie In reply to Hazel Meade. If we promised flying *trains,* the ... by Tom T. Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

A hilarious Richard Feynman talk about his time at Los Alamos, like a physicist-genius Larry David. Good prep for Oppenheimer. The post Los Alamos From Below appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to RAD. “Don’t let that crybaby in here ... by blue jay In reply to Anon. What’s next, judging writers on their ... by Etalon d’Silomar In reply to Anon. Von Neumann obviously wasn't a huckster. ... by jason y When I was just discovering my career & interest in science, I ... by Rick Jones The Rest Is History recently did two episodes on Oppenheimer ... by james Plus 10 more... Related Stories My excellent Conversation with Reid Hoffman The Harried Leisure Class *Germany in the World*  ( 6 min )

The author is David Blackbourn, and the subtitle is A Global History 1500-2000.  The focus is on Germany’s global influence abroad and no I don’t mean the Battle of Stalingrad, though that era is covered.  Here is one excerpt: There was global demand for German scientists of every kind.  The Southern Hemisphere offers two striking […] The post *Germany in the World* appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to So Much For Subtlety. Neither Kafka nor Freud ... by Maybe this is a bit indelicate In reply to Anon. If it's half footnotes, this author becomes ... by zztop '1975 to '2000 German influence on the world. Kraftwerk and SAP ... by zztop In reply to yo. This is what I wonder about French policies ... by M In reply to So Much For Subtlety. “When did the first ... by Ricardo Plus 10 more... Related Stories *The Monetarists*, by George S. Tavlas *The Ruble: A Political History* The Road to Socialism and Back: An Economic History of Poland, 1939–2019  ( 7 min )

Of course that is not what they call it: We study the relationship between credit expansions, macroeconomic fluctuations, and financial crises using a novel database on the sectoral distribution of private credit for 117 countries since 1940. We document that, during credit booms, credit flows disproportionately to the non-tradable sector. Credit expansions to the non-tradable […] The post The new Austrian business cycle theory appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Dino the Isaurian. I guess tradeable vs ... by M In reply to John Denver. If you're talking about interest ... by Vulcidian In reply to rayward. It is a conundrum. The counter point ... by Dino the Isaurian In reply to M. Construction is a mix of productive and ... by Dino the Isaurian In reply to Vulcidian. I didn't read the linked paper but it ... by John Denver Plus 10 more... Related Stories The rise of niche consumption Canada is Poaching US Talent! Update Schedule A!  ( 6 min )

This is my first post in well over a month. The obvious excuse is that I’ve been on a monthlong family world tour, which took me first to the Bay Area, then NYC, then Israel, then Orlando for STOC/FCRC as well as Disney World, now the Jersey Shore, and later today, back to the Bay […]  ( 9 min )

This is my first post in well over a month. The obvious excuse is that I’ve been on a monthlong family world tour, which took me first to the Bay Area, then NYC, then Israel, then Orlando for STOC/FCRC as well as Disney World, now the Jersey Shore, and later today, back to the Bay […]  ( 9 min )

Sci-fi flicks come in all manner of shapes and sizes with various types and tones. One theme that holds them all together: each, in some way, deals with the potential impact of actual or imagined scientific advancement on society. The following list will travel to destinations where relatively few venture today, as all these movies […]  ( 8 min )

A collection of short stories featuring the eccentric (and hilarious) Mr. Mulliner, who regales the patrons of the Anglers’ Rest with tales of his colorful and amusing relatives.  ( 2 min )

Kaiser ponders scoreline displays in tennis.  ( 8 min )

I happened to come across this cool article from 2001 by Daniel Robinson and Howard Wainer. It was published in the Journal of Wildlife Management, of all places—I didn’t know that Howard ever worked in that area!—but you can find … Continue reading →  ( 18 min )

Brent Logan SABRIN ☆ PARTY ⇾ ita.toys Juliette 📌 Discover personal websites...  ( 1 min )

Thanks for the notes - it's a joy to work with them! Some small remarks: - Exercise 14.6.D.: Typo in description: Pullbacck instead of Pullback - Exercise 15.1.D.: I feel like there should be pi^*O(m) = O_{A^{n+1} \ 0} instead of pi^*O = O_{A^{n+1}} \ 0. - p. 424: "The language of base points ... readily applies to of the linear series." This seems to be missing some words.  ( 11 min )

Experts say the loss of such specimens — even uncharismatic ones such as centipedes — is a setback for science. Particularly invaluable are holotypes, which are the example specimens that determine the description for an entire species and as such, are extremely difficult to replace.  ( 15 min )

The temporal cheese maze  ( 1 min )

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